A message from TISA’ President

Dear TISA Members,

What an incredible year! None of us has ever experienced something like in 2020. The impact of the pandemic on our private and professional life has made us experience things that we certainly would have done without. Travel restrictions, social distancing, temporary lockdowns – all this kind of stuff was completely unknown to us some twelve months ago.

And today? If not working in the same organization, the only opportunity to meet is usually via WebEx, Teams, or so. We learned to cover our faces with masks. And we need even more discipline for communication and cooperation because of the lack of networking opportunities.

An organization like TISA was extraordinarily challenged by the pandemic. Personal contacts and fruitful meetings are deeply embedded in TISA’s DNA. Lively discussions and lab working are the basis of TISA products. The situation created by COVID-19 could have been a starting point for TISA to fail.

But it wasn’t.

TISA’s Executive Office rapidly set up new opportunities to keep both work and communication channels viable – and visible. We made excellent progress in I4AD. We integrated TISA products effectively in the ITS environment. We positioned EAW as a remarkable milestone for the safety of people, not only in terms of road safety. We have been present on the most relevant events. And in addition, we created the basis for further administrative and organizational development of TISA.

Although we could welcome new members, losing some other was a very sad thing. But our business is highly dynamic and realignment of some stakeholder’s strategies and adaptation of their product developments have played a certain role for a decrease of our membership. The Steering Board has taken reasonable measures to consolidate the budget and to enable TISA to continue its successful work. All necessary decisions were supported by the membership – and in this context I have to mention the change of statutes, agreed on 8 December. Due to the pandemic this was only possible by lots of proxies and I have to thank our members for their trust. Thanks to your support, we can see a positive future for TISA.

Nobody knows how the year 2021 will develop. At least we can hope at some point to witness substantial improvements related to the COVID-19 situation. Then TISA will finally be able to hold a face-to-face meeting again. And that will be a reason to be happy, I’m more than sure of that.

I wish you a merry, peaceful and blessed Christmas season and a happy, prosperous and – above all – healthy New Year.