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.

Päivi Laine has been working as Finland's ambassador to Poland since September 2022. She came to Poland from Kyiv, where she was Finnish ambassador for three years. From 2017 to 2019, she served as visiting ambassador to Iraq. She has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki since 1995 and since then she has also been at missions in Latvia, the United Kingdom, Poland (Deputy Ambassador from 2007-12) and Russia.
Päivi Laine studied history at the University of Tampere and already then came to Poland for the first time in connection with a student exchange. She studied in Krakow and Warsaw, as well as in the UK in Manchester.
In her free time, Ambassador Laine enjoys playing sports, especially outdoors - preferably in the forest or on the water. She loves running, horse riding, kayaking and cross-country skiing in winter. Protecting the environment is important to her, so whenever she can, she tries to get around town on foot or by bike. She finds that the best way to quiet her mind is knitting, and in the summer she works on an allotment on an island in the Baltic Sea. An essential part of her life is the sauna.

Monika Kozłowska-Święconek, director of the Sustainable Mobility Office of the UM Wrocław since its creation in 2017. The Office's main task is to monitor and implement sustainable mobility policies and thus encourage people to commute to work, school by various means of transport: tram, bus, bicycle or, when they are close by, on foot. She holds a master's degree in Civil Engineering from Wrocław University of Technology and a postgraduate degree in Spatial Management/Urban Planning from the same university. She is an avid urban cyclist.

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.

Dorota van den Bercken agraduate of German and Dutch studies at the Faculty of Modern Languages at the University of Warsaw. Trade Advisor at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Within the Economic and Trade Department of the Embassy responsible, among others, for promoting sustainable transport and active mobility. (Co-)Organizer of numerous conferences and workshops on cycling.

Małgorzata Wilk-Grzywna has been vice-president of the Polish Tourism Organisation since February 2024. She has many years of experience in managing tourism entities supported by many successes in coordinating investment, promotional and training projects.
From 2002 to 2024 she worked as Director of the Office of the Board of the Regional Tourist Organisation of the Świętokrzyskie Province. She created the brand ‘Green Velo Eastern Bicycle Route’, coordinating a promotional project on behalf of 5 voivodeships of Eastern Poland.
In addition, she created a self-government cultural institution ‘Łysa Góra Świętokrzyskie Mountains Heritage Park’, as part of which the tourist attraction Park of Legends was established, which in just one year of operation has already been visited by 100 thousand people.
Since the beginning of her professional career, she has been involved in tourism, managing, among others, a travel agency and a leisure centre. She is a certified field guide and foreign tour leader.
Realisation of professional challenges harmonises with her academic achievements, which started with her graduation from the Faculty of Tourism and Recreation at the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow and continued with an open doctoral dissertation - a dissertation on ‘Brand capital of health resorts. An example of Świętokrzyskie spas’ and teaching at Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. Academic output is enriched by four publications published under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Awards and distinctions: ‘Rzeczpospolita’ Tourism Eagle for setting directions and highest standards in tourism, 2022; Man of the Year in the category: tourism, Echo Dnia 2015; laureate of the Wasza Turystyka competition for “100 most influential people in Polish tourism” in 2021, 2022, 2023.

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.

Poseł na Sejm IX i X kadencji.
Z listy PO w 2009 r. w okręgu dolnośląsko-opolskim uzyskał mandat eurodeputowanego VII kadencji. W Parlamencie Europejskim został członkiem Komisji Prawnej oraz Komisji Kultury i Edukacji, która swoim zakresem obejmowała również sport. Pracował w delegacji do spraw stosunków z Afganistanem, delegacji do spraw stosunków z Azją Centralną.
W okresie od stycznia do listopada 2015 roku pełnił funkcję głównego doradcy Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych.
Od 2016 do 2019 roku jako Dyrektor kierował Biurem Krajowym Platformy Obywatelskiej RP.
W grudniu 2023 r. powołany został na stanowisko Sekretarza Stanu w Ministerstwie Sportu i Turystyki.

Co-founder of the family blog rowerzdzieckiem.pl, where he promotes the bicycle as a means of transport not only for the young and childless. He is not an athlete, he simply rides his bike to work, with his child to kindergarten and on trips. Professionally, he is a photographer and university teacher.

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.

Cyclist and advocate of sustainable transport, as it is worth leaving the car in the garage more often. He has many years of experience in the implementation of projects co-financed by EU funds and the implementation of public procurement. In Nextbike Poland, he is responsible for the development of public bicycle systems in local government units.

Wojciech Grela began his cycling adventures around year 2000 as a typical bicycle tourist, travelling by bike across Poland and various European countries. In his hometown, Koszalin, he coordinated the Critical Mass bike ride and took part in various public space projects with local NGO, including a temporary closure for cars of the main street of the city. He also worked as cycle officer in the Koszalin town hall for 2 years. In 2017 he joined the West Pomeranian Marshall Office, where he works on developing the regional cycle network.

Initiator and social promoter of the so-called ‘cycling’ reform of the Road Traffic Law and related regulations (2012-2015). For 12 years an active educator of children and young people, pioneer of education of cyclists in real traffic conditions.

Szymon Gruchalski - sports photographer, freelance, working with his camera at the biggest cycling events such as the Tour de France, Volta Catalunya and Criterium Dauphine. Working with cycling photo agencies Cor Vos Agency (Netherlands) and Sprint Cycling (Italy), he has photographed riders from the Tour of Norway, the Tour of the Alps and Paris-Nice, to the Volta Algarve. Also associated with Lang Team, he has been documenting the rivalry in the Tour de Pologne for twelve years now.
Born and living in Jarocin, he has been involved in sport all his life. Educated as a physical education teacher and cycling coach, a graduate of the Poznań University of Physical Education, for 12 years he trained children and young people in a cycling club. Among others, Maciej Paterski came from under his wings. He himself competed as an amateur in XC and MTB marathons, he also trained judo and swimming, and has completed over a dozen marathons and running ultramarathons.

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.

Piotr Kalisz resident of Katowice , for years active in the local cycling association „Rowerowe Katowice” . Since 2021 he has worked in the office of Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Śląskiego, for which he prepared the regional cycling policy. He has cooperated with both local governments and non-governmental organisations.
Since September 2024 plenipotentiary of the Minister of Infrastructure for the development of cycling. As part of his tasks, he will create the national programme for the development of cycling, regulations facilitating the construction of cycling infrastructure and promote Polish cycling policy in Europe and worldwide.

At the Voivodship Board, he is responsible, among other things, for infrastructure (roads, railways) and environmental protection.
In addition, his responsibilities include the balanced development of the region and support for local initiatives.

Krzysztof Maksel, Polish representative in track cycling. Addicted to passion at the end of his cycling career he decided to travel the world on a bicycle. The first stage of this expedition is behind him - a 23-day journey from Warsaw to Gibraltar, during which he cycled 3 700 km alone.

Passionate about tandems, CSR ambassador, friend of the blind, volunteer, coordinator of the author's projects „Through Your Eyes We Explore the World, Notice Me” as part of the Campaign for Serene Childhood. President of the ”Foundation For”. Otherness must not constitute social exclusion.

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.

Graduate of the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw and the Police Academy in Szczytno. In the past, an expert witness in the field of road accident reconstruction and automotive technology. For 20 years he has been associated with the traffic division in the Warsaw Police Headquarters and the Police Headquarters.

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.

Communications and public affairs expert with more than 10 years of experience in advising technology and financial companies. He specialises in smart city, green energy, sustainable transport, among other topics. At Nextbike, he is responsible for comprehensive brand reputation management. He manages activities aimed at both bike sharing users and local governments and companies.

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”.

Teacher, trainer, entrepreneur, bicycle activist, pilot of tours and bicycle expeditions in Poland and Europe.
Co-organiser and coordinator of events, public meetings and social campaigns.
Active year-round cyclist, involved in the training of young cyclists, e.g. during the Bike May.

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.