On the 23 November, more than 100 stakeholders from the public and the private sector participated in the transnational workshop on digitalization in Inland Waterway Transportation (IWT). The workshop was a joint initiative of the European projects Platina 3, Masterplan DIWA, RIS COMEX and DIONYSUS and the sector organizations Pro Danube Management, EICB and the IWT Platform.The workshop focused on how digital transformation can support business activities and reporting formalities in the upcoming years. Participants provided valuable inputs regarding further requirements on synchromodality, ICT infrastructure, River Information Services and Smart Shipping, data sharing & integration, cybersecurity and compliance.
During the plenary part of the workshop, the 4 projects were introduced by short interviews moderated by the Master of Ceremony Henk van Laar. The workshop perfectly fitted into the timelines of each project, as currently project partners of PLATINA3, Dionysus and the masterplan DIWA are working on collecting input for their dedicated studies, yet at the same time giving them the chance to share intermediate results with a wide range of experts. The RIS COMEX project will launch its European fairway information portal ‘EuRIS’ in the course of 2022.
Four themes
After the break, the participants joined either one of the four break-out rooms to go into more detail and moreover to share opportunities, requirements and discuss how relevant authorities together with the industry representatives can support a successful digital transformation in IWT.
The themes of the four break out rooms were:
- Smart Shipping
- Synchro modality
- River Information Services
- Sea and inland ports
This thematic approach resulted in lively discussions and new expert inputs relevant for all of the European projects. During the final plenary part, the results of the discussions in the break-out rooms were shared with all the participants. Representatives from European Commission’s DG MOVE congratulated the initiative and highlighted the need for similar future cooperation activities of the IWT sector in Europe.