"Connecting to Empower Mobility: Roads as Enablers of a Sustainable Future for All", the International Road Federation (IRF) 2024 World Congress was held in Istanbul on 15-18 October 2024, hosted by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

The congress started with the opening speech of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan via video conference.The congress, which brought together global leaders, leading figures of the transport sector, academicians, local administrations and public-private sector stakeholders, especially officials from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, exchanged ideas on transport and mobility issues for three days. Fifty-eight national and international organisations, including ITS Türkiye, had the opportunity to show their current works in the field of transport and mobility in the exhibition area. In addition, ITS Türkiye members Çanakkale Motorway and Bridge Construction Investment and Operation, ICA YSS Bridge and Northern Ring Motorway Operation, INTETRA, ISSD Informatics Electronics, Kisan Construction Engineering, IKA İzmir Motorway Investment and Operation and KMO Anatolian Motorway Operation participated in the congress with stands.

The technical sessions in the congress programme included speeches and paper presentations by many experts working in national and international fields. In the technical session of the congress titled "TS82-Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)", Esma Dilek, Deputy General Manager of the General Directorate of Communications (HGM) and President of ITS Türkiye, Özgür Talih, Branch Manager of ITS Department, and Prof. Dr. Halim Ceylan prepared "Progress Measurement in Intelligent Transport Systems: The Case of Türkiye" was presented.

We also contributed to the project presentation activities within the scope of the congress for the promotion of innovative transport projects carried out in our country. The "Real-Time Video Stream Analysis and Malicious Activity Detection Project with Deep Learning Methods in Traffic Surveillance Cameras" with project number 123E065, supported by ITS Türkiye President Esma Dilek within the scope of "TUBITAK 1005-National New Ideas and Products Research Support Programme", was introduced to the congress participants operating in the transport sector and developing innovative solutions, and national and international transport sector stakeholders who have the potential to benefit from the outputs of this project were informed at the congress. In addition, in the seminar held on the last day of the congress, the project outputs and project development process were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Eren and Res. Asst. Gamze Kazancı Altınok in the "Project III: Site Planning & Design" course, conducted by Gamze Kazancı Altınok, was shared with the second year undergraduate students of Istanbul Technical University Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urban and Regional Planning. With the seminar organised, it was aimed to share the outputs of the project with students and academicians who will take part in smart city planning processes and to gain a perspective on how artificial intelligence-supported computer vision applications can be used in urban planning.

We would like to extend our thanks to the International Road Federation, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the General Directorate of Highways, all institutions and organisations supporting the organisation, all transport sector representatives, especially ERTICO and IRF officials, who participated in the IRF 2024 World Congress organisation, which enabled ITS Türkiye to meet and exchange views with the members of the association and sector stakeholders from Türkiye and abroad.