ECOMOTION BOOKLET 2020 - Breaking Through Mobility Innovation

OPENING NOTES

Boaz Mamo EcoMotion Founder Israel Innovation Institute Board Member

“Here’s to the crazy ones … because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do” — Steve Jobs, 1997 I remember back to one of the first EcoMotion board meetings in 2013 when we defined the scope of the EcoMotion community.We asked ourselves what is smart transportation? Certain topics we discussedwere an obvious yes, such as battery technologies and autonomous driving. Somewere amaybe as there were many paths this new sector could take, and others we could not fathom as being an integral part of the smart transportation world. One of the areas that was dismissed was video-conference technologies. We all agreed that it could be a great technology to reduce themovement of people fromone place to another, in effect reducing traffic, but we were skeptical about its ability to replace travel all together. Since that meeting, many things have changed. This year specifically, forced us to change faster than ever to adapt to the new reality. Video-conference technologies have become a leading communication tool removing the need to travel to connect with someone face to face and city sidewalks have replaced roads as the asset in shortage. With all of the change happening around us, one thing has remained a constant: the ability of the Israeli ecosystem, specifically its startups, to identify challenges and turn them into opportunities. It is on communities like EcoMotion to continue to build and grow, forge new paths forward, and address the needs for the dynamic world we live in. I can say that we have risen to the challenge and I am proud to see how we have grown from a small local activity in 2013, to a world hub for smart transportation and mobility. Keep being crazy and keep changing the world!

15