The African American Transportation Professional Networking Group (ATNG), with America, Botswana, and Nigeria as the Regional Centres and International Secretariat, is made up of professionals and stakeholders from the government, academic, industry, and transport sectors with a commitment to proffer solutions to critical challenges facing transportation in Africa. In collaboration with Transport Stakeholders, Universities, and Transport Professionals in Africa, the Group has been organizing annual International Transportation Conferences in African countries and America. The 1st and 2nd editions were held in Botswana (2014 and 2015), and the 3rd was in Ghana (2016). The 4th edition of the International Conference on Transportation in Africa (ICTA 2017) took place from 18th to 20th October 2017 at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria. The 5th, 6th, and 7th editions of the African American International Conference on Sustainable Transportation (ICTA2022) were held at the Centre for Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA on 26th – 28th July 2022. The 8th edition was held at the Avani Victoria Falls Resort in Livingstone, Zambia, on 26th – 28th June 2023.
Mission
The goal of the group is to organize professional transportation conferences such as the “International Conference on Transportation” from country to country within Africa and America biennially to provide a platform for experts and scholars to exchange ideas with each other and share the development and products in the field of transportation. It is apparent from the above that there is a generally perceived link between the state of development of a country and the extent of technology usage and availability of technical information in that country. It follows, therefore, that technology transfer, both within and outside a country to boost technology usage, is necessary for that country’s development. In other words, the extent and efficiency of a country’s technology transfer system could reveal the extent of that country’s development.
Background
Globalization and rapidly evolving technologies are driving profound changes in the role of transportation in our society. Through research studies and publications on various disciplines, we continue to provide authoritative and non-partisan policy advice to decision-makers in government, academia, and the private sector. Although research in transportation is integral to our societies, there are persistent challenges to the vitality of this sector. Funding for scientific research is increasingly uncertain and, in my view, this calls for trans-disciplinary and trans-sector research collaboration to ensure that fundamental advances are made in the areas of focus for continuity and sustainability of transportation. Redesigning dated organizational structures and cultural attitudes within and across the sectors could dramatically accelerate the development of new approaches. I believe we now have the critical mass in academia, government, and the private sector to achieve this. To attain global stature and tackle critical societal challenges in the transport sector will depend on how we nurture the research and publication ecosystem.
Membership
Everyone in any way connected with transportation is invited. This professional networking group will be of interest to funding agencies, national government authorities, parastatals, policy and decision-makers, academics, researchers, students, and professionals active in the planning, construction, maintenance, logistics, operation, and safety of passenger and freight transport, road traffic, rail, maritime and aviation. End-users will also find the group of interest.
