Co-Creation and Consultation Workshop with CSOs

The workshop was organised by the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (c-hed) along with Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI) in collaboration with Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), the workshop brought together Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and government officials, to co-create inclusive and gender-responsive mobility solutions for Kochi.

The day convened representatives from 17 CSOs, along with mobility officials, to explore the unique challenges faced by different community groups in various neighbourhoods across Kochi. The session began with presentation from c-hed on the relevance of Gender Sensitive Panning and the various participatory planning sessions, stakeholder engagement, and survey data through the MobiliseHER Initiative.

Through interactive sessions, the CSOs suggestions included the introduction of a uniform transport card across different modes and a bus number identification system, supported by real-time tracking of bus locations and timings. A strong emphasis was placed on increasing the participation of women in the transport workforce, thereby making mobility systems more inclusive and safer. The need for differently abled friendly transport services was also highlighted to ensure equitable access for all. Participants further stressed the importance of affordable, accessible, and hygienic public toilets, as well as the introduction of smaller e-feeder buses and shared autos to improve first- and last-mile connectivity in underserved neighbourhoods within the city. These were some of the key suggestions from the workshop.

The ideas and insights generated through these consultations will be instrumental in guiding the next steps of the MobiliseHER project and shaping future policies to create a more accessible, inclusive, and responsive mobility systems in Kochi.