So, what does it take to organise a successful TNM?
A transnational meeting should be both interesting and practically useful for its participants. That means balancing site visits and presentations with structured sessions for coordination and planning. One of the first steps is identifying the main objective of the meeting – is it a technical exchange, strategic alignment, or field immersion? In our case, we made sure to align the meeting theme with the project focus, and crucially, to root it in real experiences from our city that participants could witness directly.
Hradec Králové aimed to showcase how its citizens experience everyday life in the city by organizing this meeting. We are therefore making every effort to ensure that our guests have the opportunity to experience public transport, bike sharing, infrastructure, and other city services just as residents do.
At the same time, since our network partners are experts in various fields, we wanted to take full advantage of their perspectives. Seeing our city through the eyes of external specialists (with a Critical Friend Dynamic - see URBACT TOOL BOX) offered a valuable opportunity to reflect on our urban environment in a new way—distinct not only from how residents perceive it, but also from the views of professionals who have long been involved in urban development planning in Hradec Králové.
Key Considerations for Organising a TNM:
What we did in Hradec Králové – and what you can learn
The participants were welcomed at the meeting by the Mayor of Hradec Králové Pavlína Springerová. During the first day of the meeting, the participants learned about the planned revitalization of Velké náměstí square in the city centre, associated with the reorganization of parking in this area. In the afternoon, they had the opportunity to see Velké náměstí from above and discuss its future shape. Together they also focused on the further development of the Integrated Action Plan in terms of the necessary change in the transport behaviour of the city's citizens.
A dedicated coordination session focused on further development of the Integrated Action Plan and project milestones – a key element not to overlook when planning your own TNM.
The second day started with a ride on a public transport bus along the route of line number 16 to Svobodné Dvory, in a rural area, where the programme continued with an introduction of the Hradec Králové Transport Company, by its director Zdeněk Abraham.
During the course, the participants learned interesting information about the processing of digital data within the individual modules of the Intelligent Transport System in Hradec Králové from representatives of the company Incinity and about the use of the OpenData IDS portal for the development of a tool for traffic simulations over real data from the Intelligent Transport System, including the future use of the city of Hradec Králové, presented by representatives of the University of Hradec Králové.
Pro tip: include external speakers who can demonstrate cross-sector collaboration and tools that participants might adapt back home.
The afternoon was devoted to the issue of Public Transport Integration in a presentation by representatives of the CTU and a presentation of Nextbike shared bikes in the city. During the afternoon, all partners presented their Vision Map (Graphical representation of the vision) for their Integrated Action Plan. Each partner had the opportunity to comment on the visions of the others, whether they were clear enough, graphically appealing, etc. At the end of the second day of the meeting, this time by bus of the regional carrier, the participants moved to the public transport terminal, which they had the opportunity to see and learn more about.
After the excursion, the participants were divided into groups and each group moved to designated locations in Hradec Králové to discuss the design of public spaces from a sustainable transport perspective and suggest other solutions for a given space.
Final Thoughts
Organising a TNM isn’t only about logistics or scheduling sessions. It’s about designing a shared experience that encourages collaboration, sparks new ideas, and offers practical insights. The TNM in Hradec Králové aimed to do just that – and we hope the lessons learned here help others plan their own successful transnational meetings.
