Dear readers,

The World Road Association is a network of road authorities and experts from all over the world. We organise international knowledge sharing activities: establishing Technical Committees, facilitating networking between 1,200 international experts, publishing reports, organising seminars and Congresses. This delivers significant added value to our members and to the road and transport community. Having said that, it stands to reason that our activities are just one layer of the cake. On a day to day level, what is paramount is knowledge sharing at the national level. Not only is it easier to converse with colleagues using the same language, but having the same legal framework and regulations is also a huge boost when discussing best practice, sharing tips and building joint projects. This is why at PIARC, we recognise the tremendous value of national road associations, and regard them as our partners.

In some countries, the national road association is recognised as a "PIARC National Committee". These National Committees sometimes carry out some membership administration tasks on our behalf. More importantly, they help us liaise with our members in their respective countries and understand better their needs and expectations. For example, we make sure to contact our National Committees as well when we call on our members to suggest new research needs that PIARC could tackle, identify possible Committee members, or organise an international seminar. PIARC currently has 42 National Committees, with the latest additions being Poland and Paraguay; Tanzania is expected to join very soon.

They have their own representative at Executive Committee level, a position currently held by Mr Saverio Palchetti (Italy). Saverio recently convened a working meeting of French-speaking African national committees in Morocco, which has identified ways to improve PIARC's activities in these countries. You will learn more about it in this new edition of our Newsletter, as well as in every issue of our Routes/Roads magazine.

Kind regards,

Patrick Malléjacq