Born in Amsterdam, 5 July 1960
MA Cultural Anthropology, University of Amsterdam (1984)
Mrs Bergsma was married to Jan-Paul Dirkse. She is a widow since March 2017
Languages: Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, Hebrew and Russian
Mrs Bergsma joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987 and has since then occupied the following positions:
- Policy Officer Indonesia Desk in The Hague (1988-1990)
- Assistant Spokesman to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in The Hague (1990-1993)
- Berlin Embassy Office (1993-1996)
- OSCE Coordinator Security Policy Department in The Hague (1996-2002)
- Deputy Head Asylum Department in The Hague (2002-2005)
- From September 2005 until August 2009 Mrs Bergsma was on special leave in Moscow, where her husband was the Dutch Ambassador. From Moscow she was sent on special short assignments:
- Acting Deputy Head of Mission in Tokio (2006)
- Acting Head of Gulf States Division in The Hague (2007)
- Acting Consul General in Sao Paulo, Brazil (2007)
- Acting Consul General Ho Chi Minh city (2008)
- Deputy Director of the Press and Communication Department in The Hague (2008)
- Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Slovak Republic (2009-2013)
- Director Europe Department /Deputy Director-General European Cooperation in The Hague (2013-2018)
- Ambassador at Large / Special Advisor Consular Issues in The Hague (2018-2019)
- As of 19 August 2019 Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic
of Poland, also accredited to the Republic of Belarus

Representative of Polish local government and a lawyer. She graduated from the Third High School in Gdańsk. She studied law at the University of Gdańsk and Paris Lodron University in Salzburg. She was involved in Gdansk’s preparations for UEFA EURO 2012™️. She was involved in the creation of the European Solidarity Centre.
In March 2017, Mayor of Gdansk Paweł Adamowicz entrusted her with the position of his deputy for economic policy. In 2019, she was elected Mayor of the City of Gdansk in early elections. She serves as Chairperson of the Board of the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area and is a member of the Board of the Union of Polish Metropolises Foundation. Member of the European Committee of the Regions, Chair of the Ukraine Working Group.

Masters degrees in Translation and Interpretation (English, Russian), Leopold Franzens University of Innsbruck (2005)
Studies in Law, Johannes Kepler University Linz (2018)
Languages: fluent in German, English, Russian

Ms Griesmaier joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008 and has since then occupied the following positions:
• Desk Officer, Division for Citizens Services, Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria (2008)
• Temporary assignment to the Austrian Embassy Kyjiw, Consular Department (December 2008 – January 2009)
• Desk Officer, Division for Visa, Passports and Border Issues, Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria (2009)
• Attachée for Consular and Administrative Affairs, Austrian Embassy Moscow (2009-2013)
• Attachée for Migration Issues, Austrian Embassy Moscow (2013-2014)
• Head of Administration and Consular Affairs, Austrian Embassy Stockholm (2014-2017)
• Desk Officer, Division for Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Political
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria (2017-2019)
• Political Officer, Austrian Embassy Moscow (2019-2023)
• Minister Counsellor, Austrian Embassy Warsaw (2023-current)

Joanna Matuszczyk has been involved with the Marshal’s Office of the Małopolska Region for several years. From 2019, head of the Cycling Development Team in the Department of Tourism. Privately, she is a lover of travelling and of design thinking and network intelligence. For her, a bicycle is not just a way to enjoy a good holiday trip, but rather a lifestyle.

Plenipotentiary of the Marshal for Cycling Since 2014. She has been coordinating a project to build a network of 1,100 km of long-distance cycle routes in Western Pomerania. Her goal is to make cycling accessible to the widest possible group of people. She does not leave home without her bike, regardless of whether she is going nearby or far away. The bicycle enables her to commute to work, take micro-trips around West Pomerania, and go on long cycling tours in different countries.
She is involved in the development of cycling at the national level and has been secretary of the Cycling Mobility Team at the Convention of Marshals of the Republic of Poland for five years. She is a certified auditor of cycle routes of the Euro Velo network. Graduate of the Poznań University of Economics specialising in territorial marketing.

Noémie Piaskowski is a Sustainable Development Counsellor for Central Europe and the Baltic States at the Regional Economic Department of the French Embassy in Poland since 2020. An architect and urban planner by education, she has held a number of positions in the semi-public sector in the fields of urban planning, urban renovation and construction at a public-private company, and at the Urban Planning Agency. She then continued her career in the government service. In her various roles in the decentralised administration in France, she has held positions that have enabled her to address quality of life issues in an open and interdepartmental manner.

Coordinator of the Bicycle Team and chief specialist at Tourism Department of the Marshal's Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Responsible for developing the Concept of bicycle routes for the region. Author of many tourist guides presenting: suggestions for walking and cycling routes and trips.

For many years, she has been involved in activities related to the development of sustainable urban mobility in the Sustainable Mobility Department, Investment Department of the Gdynia City Hall. Author and co-author of city strategic documents, including: Bicycle Strategy for Gdynia until 2030, Mobility Plan for the Chwarzno-Wiczlino district and numerously cited scientific articles on the development of bicycle traffic and shared mobility. Manages EU-funded projects for sustainable transport, including: SUMPs for BSR, SPINE, SMACKER in cooperation with various stakeholder groups. Organizer of conferences and consultation meetings as part of local initiatives. Coordinator of the shared scooters project in the city. Co-creates research on communication behavior and preferences as well as mobility campaigns. She completed postgraduate studies "Ecological transport of the future" and obtained the title of Electromobility Specialist at the Cardinal Wyszyński University in Warsaw. Privately, she is a fan of mountain hiking and traveling, with the train Wars in the background. A passionate educator, with a mission to inspire everyday choices of sustainable means of transport and demonstrate their combination.

Deputy Director for Development at the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA). She is responsible for the implementation of key projects within the PSPA, including acting as manager of the postgraduate course “New Mobility” co-organised with the Warsaw University of Technology. She coordinates the organisation’s efforts in the area of cooperation with local authorities aimed at reducing air pollution from urban transport and developing new mobility based on sustainable transport. She supports the introduction of clean transport zones and the creation of friendly urban spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. She holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Warsaw and a postgraduate degree in “Functioning of the Energy Market” from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).

Initiator and director of the “Polish Bicycle Summit”; initiator of the social action of Rzeczpospolita, “Cycling across Poland”, promoting physical activity, the bicycle as a means of transport, bicycle tourism and telling the story of people travelling by bike. Advocate for the creation of a National Cycling Strategy in Poland. Author and head of “Rzeczpospolita Życie Regionów”. Promoter of the idea of fair play in Poland and around the world; member of the council of the International Fair Play Committee, member of the board of the European Fair Play Movement, and president of the Fair Play Club of the Polish Olympic Committee.

As a Łódz resident, I respect hard work and always put the other person at the centre of my activities. My professional career includes working as a specialist in public administration and management, as well as serving as Director of the Department of Health and Social Affairs. During my time in local government, I have been involved in projects such as the implementation of the civic budget, the urban renewal programme and the development of sports infrastructure. In addition, I was responsible for the city’s IVF programme. Currently, as a Member of the Polish Parliament, I sit on two Parliamentary Committees: Digitalisation, Innovation and Emerging Technologies and Public Finance. In addition, I am Vice-Chairman of the Standing Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithm Transparency, and Chairman of the Polish-French Parliamentary Group.

Plenipotentiary of the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolitan Area for New Mobility; MBA graduate of the WSB Academy. Coordinator of the Metropolitan Bicycle project and velostrades system. His previous career path was in media and automotive industry. Today, he popularises and puts into practice the ideas of sustainable transport and electromobility. He passionately talks about bicycles and zero-emission vehicles, be it cars or public transport.

Spokesperson for the Warsaw Municipal Roads Authority, previously a transport journalist at Transport-Publiczny.pl and TOR Publishing House, and even earlier a sports journalist for Gazeta Wyborcza and Sport.pl. He wrote articles about sustainable transport, including cycling, and the transformation of urban space before it became trendy. A Wrocław citizen by birth, but a Warsaw resident by choice. An enthusiast of the Tatra Mountains.

A graduate of the University of Warsaw and IFiS PAN, cyclist, journalist, and employee of local and central government administrations. He has experience in implementing projects co-financed by EU funds and carrying out public procurement. At Nextbike Poland, he is responsible for the development of public bicycle systems in local government units. A supporter of sustainable transport because it's worth leaving the car in the garage sometimes. By implementing public bicycle systems, he, along with his team, provides, maintains, and develops an alternative, modern, environmentally friendly form of urban transportation, supporting residents' activity and a healthy lifestyle.

ESG | Urban & Active Mobility | Internationalization of higher education and business | Project & financial management
Economist | MBA | General Director of Polish Union of Active Mobility | Member of the Mobility Council & Transport of the Mayor of the City of Gdansk Aleksandra Dulkiewicz | Director of Communications of Velo-city 2025 in Gdansk | Expert of the Mobility Team of the Union of Polish Metropolises | BYPAD auditor

15 years of Experience in Implementing extra-structural projects on the theme of Sustainable Mobility | Value of successful completed “soft” European projects over €15 million | Initiator of conference titles: Congress of Active Mobility, Urban Mobility Flow and Life Friendly Local Governments | Author and co-author of publications on Sustainable Mobility and Local Government Development | Participant of Velo-city conferences: Seville (2011), Vancover (2012), Vienna (2013), Arnhem - Nijmegen (2017), Lisbon (2021), Ljubljana (2022), Leipzig (2023)

Entrepreneur, economic advisor, former journalist. Governor of Lower Silesia from 2007 to 2010, and then Marshal of Lower Silesia until 2014. Since July 2015, he has been volunteering as head of the Lower Silesian Cycling Association. Passionate about cycling and long-distance cycling expeditions.

Deputy Director of the Department of Municipal Services at the City Hall in Gdańsk. Director of Velo-city 2025 in Gdańsk. Chairman of the electromobility team at the Gdańsk City Council. Chairman of the team preparing the World Scout Jamboree 2027 in Gdańsk (event for 50,000 people).
Master’s degree in geography from the Faculty of Social and Economic Geography, University of Gdańsk. He completed postgraduate studies in Managing and Evaluating EU-funded Projects at the Gdańsk University of Technology and an Executive Master of Business Administration.
Professional experience: coordinator of the “Accessible City Development Programme” in the field of mobility and transport. Coordinator of a number of large events organised in Gdańsk, including the Polish Scouts Rally “Gdańsk 2018” (a 10-day event for 15,000 participants). Supervisor of cycling campaigns in Gdańsk, such as Cycling May: Poland’s largest cycle to school campaign, Bike 2 Work (earn kilometres for Gdańsk), or the European Sustainable Mobility Week. Responsible for the development of the city centre, Sobieszewo Island, and urban traffic management.
He oversees the activities of the Active Mobility, Local Development and Trade departments of the City Council. He has overseen the implementation of a number of EU-funded projects.

local government official, lawyer and academic teacher. In 2002, he sat on the Biała Podlaska city council on behalf of the Civic Platform, and was relected in 2006 and 2010.
Between 2014-2018, as a deputy mayor of Biała Podlaska, he was responsible for education, culture, sports and social policy. Since 2018, he has been the mayor of this city.
Promoter of physical activity - instructor of many disciplines, including: skiing, windsurfing, survival. In 2022, when Biała Podlaska became the Bicycle Capital of Poland, he won the president's cup for covering the most kilometers during the month of the competition. In 2023, residents of Biała Podlaska and friends of the city, after traveling over 1 million 130 thousand kilometers in June. km, defended their championship title, and Michał Litwiniuk again turned out to be the local government official with the highest number of kilometers clocked.

He cycles about 1,500 km a year. Experienced manager in the media industry, whose passion for the media began in 2000 when he joined the Onet Group. He was with the TVN Group for more than 15 years, where he served on the Management Board from 2012 and as Director of the Digital Division, where he was responsible for digital transformation.

MSc Civil Engineering with more than 15 years of experience in urban mobility and, more specifically, in public bike sharing. During his career, he has been involved in the design, installation and operation of 40 public bike services around the world. Member of the CIE Expert Group on Bike Share.

Promoter of accessible cycling tourism, author of the blog “Znaj kraj” with descriptions of the best cycling routes in Poland and Europe. Formerly a contributor to Rowertour magazine, he is now an author at National Geographic Traveler magazine. In his publications he devotes a lot of attention to the accessibility of cycle tourism.

Economist, graduate of the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw. He has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of corporate communications, marketing and management with listed companies, international corporations and consulting firms. He specialises in strategies in the areas of marketing, external and internal communication, as well as digital transformation and building customer and employee experience. He has gained experience at JMC, Orbis SA/Accor, DTZ/Cushman & Wakefield, Leroy Merlin Polska, Teknos Group Oy. Currently employed at DPD Polska, a leading courier service provider, with responsibility for the corporate communications area.

Co-founder and CEO of Urvis Bike, a Polish company developing electric cargo bikes from scratch. He has over a dozen years of experience in multinational corporations. Doctor of Economics, cycling and mountain running enthusiast.

Henk Swarttouw has been a professional diplomat in the Dutch foreign service for 30+ years, working in the US, France, the UK, Finland and, of course, the Netherlands. Henk served as Dutch ambassador to Finland from 2012 to 2015 and as Dutch ambassador to Denmark from 2015 to 2019. Until leaving the Foreign Service in the summer of 2020, Henk worked as Dutch ambassador for International Organisations. He is now an independent advisor on sustainability and international cooperation. Henk has been cycling to school and to work for over 50 years. Since his arrival in Finland in 2012, he has been actively engaging in cycling diplomacy. Henk initially joined the ECF board as Vice-President in 2019, putting his international experience and diplomatic skills at the disposal of ECF and its members. In April 2021, he was elected President of ECF by our members following a vote at the Annual General Meeting.

Nils is passionate about promoting active mobility worldwide to support the transfomation towards more liveable, inclusive and sustainable cities. After moving to the Netherlands, he realised the opportunitites and potential that cycling offers when taken seriously and designing infrastructure right. During his studies at Utrecht University, his personal passion for cycling turned into his research focus looking at sharing knowledge and learnings in the field of urban mobility. In his master thesis he focused on last-mile commute in India analysing the potential of walking and cycling to public transit. He is highly motivated to connect people and transfer knowledge to continuosly improve conditions for active mobility worldwide.

Olivier Schneider lives in France and promotes cycling all over the world. He has been involved with bicycles for more than 15 years and is currently president of the French federation of bicycle users (FUB), which brings together more than 500 local organisations. Co-author of the French national cycling plan, founder of the academy of active mobility and originator of the universal cycling education programme “génération vélo”, as well as the programme for the promotion of cycling logistics “Colisactiv”.

Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland for the ninth and tenth parliamentary terms. He submitted nearly 900 interpellations during his previous term. Member of the Parliamentary Committees on Infrastructure and on Justice and Human Rights, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group on Migration Policy and of the Parliamentary Group on Cycling Transport.
During his term of office, he has dealt with issues such as the development of public transport, the quality of infrastructure, the protection of green areas, job security, the judicial system, health care, the humanitarian crisis and the rights of LGBT+ community.
St Lazarus Estate Councillor. Architect, activist, cyclist. Initiator of the Poznań Chain of Light in defence of the independence of the judicial system. Graduate of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Arts in Poznań. Urban culture promoter. Curator of events related to architecture and long-time collaborator of festivals such as: MIASTOmovie, Short Waves Festival and Malta Festival. The organiser of events such as Piknik na Placu Wolności, Pstryk, Pogrzeb Zimy, or Parking Day, which, in addition to their recreational function, act as a commentary on the state of the socio-urban fabric of the city. Coordinator for the Development Strategy of the Poznań International Fair from 2018 to 2019, responsible for keeping the city open to fairs.

A new technology entrepreneur who has created brands such as BUY.BOX and 100Shoppers. City activist dedicated to promoting the bicycle as a means of transport and the development of people-friendly cities. Author of the rowerowesygnaly.pl project. A runner and traveller by passion, an engineer by profession.

Erik’s main interest lies in the interaction between city development and bicycle-inclusive mobility. He believes that cycling and active mobility are essential elements for a liveable city, and that the future of cities depends on their ability to facilitate multimodal transport. As a former architect Erik attaches great value to attractive design solutions and the quality of public space. He has strong analytical skills and an open attitude to stakeholders.
Erik studied Architecture and Urban Planning (Delft) and Master City Developer (Rotterdam). He has a broad experience in working as a (project) manager for municipalities, and as the main cycling policy advisor for the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure. Erik also works as lecturer/researcher at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Marcin Piasecki, columnist and managing editor of “Rzeczpospolita”.
In his journalistic career, he has worked for, among others, “Gazeta Wyborcza” and the economics magazine “Profit”. First editor-in-chief of the Polish edition of “Forbes”, deputy editor-in-chief of “Dziennik” and “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”. Editor-in-Chief of the economic supplement to “Dziennik” – The Wall Street Journal Poland.
Guest and co-author of radio and television programmes, among others on TVN CNBC, Polsat News, TOK FM, Radio PiN, Jedynka and Trójka radio stations. Presenter and moderator of numerous conferences and economic debates.

Grzegorz Siemionczyk is an economic journalist for “Rzeczpospolita” and “Parkiet”, specialising in macroeconomic issues. He is the initiator and moderator of the “Rz” panel of economists and winner of the Grand Press Economy 2020 award. The bicycle is his primary means of transport in the city, all year round. He promotes cargo bikes as an alternative to the car for daily commuting.