The announcement was made on Friday 21 September by Dejan Crnek , newly elected Chair of the CIVITAS Political Advisory Committee, in the closing plenary session of the CIVITAS Forum.

The choice of Graz as the Forum's location for marks something of a homecoming - the first one took place there.

Graz is Austria's second largest city and has a  track record both as a CIVITAS member and for embedding sustainable ideas into its urban development strategies and transport systems.

Boasting one of Europe's largest pedestrian zones, the city has also rolled out its own intermodal hub system in recent years and launched an urban mobility lab. Its continuing engagement with CIVITAS can be seen through its involvement in the projects SMARTSET and NOVELOG.

Although he was unable to be present in person, Siegfried Nagl, Mayor of Graz, appeared in a video message inviting the CIVITAS community to next year's event.

To see the video message and more details on the CIVITAS Forum, visit its web page:

This year's Forum took place in Umeå, Sweden, from 19-21 September.