Knowledge Quarterly Participant meeting Q3 10 October 2023 General The state-of-the-art Van Raam factory in Varsseveld hosted this year’s Q3 meeting. On Tuesday 3rd October, participants of the public-private Dutch Cycling Embassy network met up in the east of the Netherlands, where some delighted participants were kindly collected at the train station by a convoy of Van Raam’s custom bicycles. After a short enjoyable cycle to the factory, all other participants then met up and introductions were made before the meeting could begin. We were welcomed by Jan-Willem Boezel, the Technical Director and Marnix Kwant Sales and Marketing Manager from Van Raam. Marnix Kwant presented to the room about Van Raam; a family business that offers sustainable and contemporary mobility to people with a disability by manufacturing custom bicycles. We then proceeded on a tour of the factory where tricycles, the mobility scooter bike, low step-through bicycles and comfort bikes (to name but a few!) are produced. In fact, more then 15,000 bicycles per year are produced completely in house in the factory, meaning that there are now over 250,000 Van Raam bicycle users worldwide. Following the impressive tour of one of the cleanest and most sustainable factories in the Netherlands, the meeting continued. Here Skadi Tirpak, as the new Managing Director of the DCE, took over presentation duties as she welcomed everyone, introduced herself and outlined the work done by DCE since Q2. She invited DCE team members to also share their recent experiences and promote upcoming events. Nils Steinhauser provided updates on activities in Germany such as IAA mobility, whilst Margot Daris and Emma Stubbe then reflected on relevant study visits and ThinkBike workshops. Taking a glimpse into the future, Skadi then highlighted the International Cargo Bike Festival, Velo-City, COP28 and the Dutch Cycling Week as important events coming up. Excitingly two new participants of the network were also present for their first meeting. Marten Spanjaart from ABUS and Aadarsh Das from MOBY introduced themselves and their organisations to the room. Welcome to the network! Then with networking and food on the mind, the meeting was wrapped up, sandwiches unwrapped and everyone came together to socialise at the end of the day. It was great to reconnect with such a passionate group of individuals and organisations, as we work towards achieving cycling for everyone. A big thank you to Van Raam for hosting, we look forward to seeing you all again soon.