Community Archives - Page 3 of 24

17/05/202121/07/2021

Myanmar: Less Walk – Excess global bike share surplus get kids to school

Myanmar: Walk Less - Excess global bike share surplus get kids to school. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May 2021.

An inspiring good news story from Myanmar where bicycles really are creating more positive social and environmental change!

Recently, I came across an article written by Phoe Wah in The Myanmar Times detailing a local tech entrepreneur’s social enterprise which uses global bike-sharing surplus to get more rural Myanmar kids to school.

Fantastic!

For more: see the Less Walk website for more and the Less Walk YouTube channel here.

Here is an overview of that the project below*.

Like many young students across Myanmar, Saw, Suu Lel had to walk for miles to reach school from his small Kayin village. Every morning he would wake at 5 am to make it to his morning class, and would only return at dusk after walking for another hour to get home. The long commute was an added source of stress for the young scholar as it took time away from his homework. Coming from a poor family, Saw, Suu Lel also wished to help his parents but the distance is too great to reach their workplace by foot. However, Saw, Suu Lel tedious routine or changed overnight. Like the other students in the village, he received a brand-new bicycle.

“I’m really happy about having an Obike (a former model of the bike-sharing company). I’ve never owned one“ said the seventh grader.

Since the day the bikes arrived, the morning streets in the village look very different. A line of yellow bikes, written by delighted students, makes its way through the main streets towards the school.

Mike Than Tun, the founder of the Myanmar technology company BOD Tech Venture is behind this goodwill gesture. Aside from investing in tech projects around the country, the 33-year-old businessman doubles as a philanthropist. His main area of interest is education.

“Education is the best way to alleviate poverty” is Mike Than Tun’s mantra. The bikes are aimed at giving school children a more efficient and fun way to get to school. According to Mike, many students drop out of school because when they move to middle and high school the schools are very far away from the villages with some walking up to 2 hours in the early morning. When it rains, walking times can be extended even further.

“Less walking will help the student save 80% of their travel time. We believe having Bikes will improve absenteeism and overall lateness giving more time for students to study and allow them to focus in class. It’s also safer for female students as I can reach home before dark,” said Mike Than Tun.

Having lived for nearly 18 years in Singapore, Mike Than Tun realized the extent of the problem during his travels to rural Myanmar. On his travels across the countryside, he remembered seeing lines of young students walking long distances to school. He realized that many families could not afford a bicycle and seeing a school bus was a rarity.

Myanmar imports large quantities of used bicycles from Thailand and Japan which can provide much-needed form of cheap transportation for some people. Despite the secondhand imports, many families still can’t afford a used bicycle.

His idea first took shape in 2018 when the Chinese bike-sharing provider Obike announce bankruptcy and their companies Ofo and Mobike withdrew from the Southeast Asia market. This left plenty of spare bicycles abandoned, available for scrap dealers or recycling plants.

“It is extremely heartbreaking to see the amount of money and resources wasted white sharing companies that all ended up at scrap. A new bicycle is estimated to cost between USD$ 150-200 to manufacture now all ends up as a huge social and public nuisance. It’s sad that rich nations might not know how to treasure such a simple necessity. But for people in need, it can make a huge impact and even be life-changing,” said Tun.

Through his initiative Less Walk.com, the philanthropist buys and imports the obsolete bike-sharing bicycles into Myanmar at a fraction of the original cost and distributes them for free to students living below the poverty line. Students who benefit the most typically walk over two kilometres a day and are enrolled in grade 6 – 10. Since last June, the Less Walk project has already imported 10,000 brand-new Obikes.

“We will modify the bicycles to add a seat in the back so that siblings can ride to school. We will also remove the digital lock and replace it with a regular lock for the students” Mike added.

So far, Mike’s charity has already helped students in Sagaing, Yangong, Mon and Thanithariyi regions and the founder intends to cover other places in Myanmar in the future. Words of his good deeds have travelled as far as America, Netherlands, Japan and China where people started to donate bikes to his project.

Mike hopes to expand the program from 10,000 bikes to 100,000 bikes in two years.

“We want to raise awareness that the circular economy is possible and one man’s problems can be another man’s opportunity” he said.

*Main content and all images sourced from Phoe Wah’s article and Less Walk. Some content is edited.

08/05/202114/07/2021

Mother’s Day 2021

8th May is Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day mums (and dads and significant others and carers who also fill maternal roles!).

For a previous Mother’s Day, I wrote about the issues I had with some Mother’s Day ‘suggested gifts for cycling mums’.

If you haven’t read the post Happy Fearful Mother’Day Cycling Mums! check it out here – it’s well worth the read!

I appreciate the sentiment of Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day) in taking time to recognise and celebrate the hard work parents do.

I like to think that mums are always appreciated as much as they are on Mother’s Day (ie for the other 364 days of the year as well) – not just one day a year … I hope …

Mums have it tough.

Women are advantaged in society and mothers in particular face enduring and unfair social and corporate pressures and constraints around childcare, unpaid labour, taking the load for emotional labour (the unpaid job men still don’t understand) and ‘being a good mother’, inequitable divisions of household labour, the hidden and overlooked value-cost-effort of stay-at-home mums and that working mums (well…all women) on average make only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Christine Carter articulates these frustrations well in her piece: All I want for Mother’s Day is an equitable division of labour. And yes… it is ‘a thing’…still!

Traditionally Mother’s Day is celebrated with breakfast in bed, flowers or lunches out with loved ones.

With much work needed to address systemic gender inequities, I’m proposing that this Mother’s Day is an opportunity to recognize such issues and think more carefully about how we celebrate mums and other (female) carers.

Mother’s Day is an opportunity to consider more critically the presence and presents we are giving to mums and what these ‘gifts’ communicate, expect and perpetuate.

Keep in mind that Mother’s Day (and other similar commemorative events) are overwhelmingly driven by corporate advertising and marketers who don’t give a shit about mums – they just want to sell more crap.

Such ‘gifts’ are not very honouring, nor are they particularly thoughtful.

So for Mother’s Day 2021, consider doing things a little differently.

Consider talking to a mother (key person) in your life – and dig a little deeper. Have a D & M (deep and meaningful). Be curious about their life (if they are willing to share) listening to what they have to say – and take your time. Go beyond the superficial and every day. Ask them more probing questions and listen to their experiences. Take time to really listen to what life is like for them – to be a mum/carer and a woman-person in the world. Ask them what their life is like – all the ups and downs. Tell them you notice all the small, thankless, important things they do – and that you know there are thousands of other hidden things that you are not aware of, but you know they do anyway, to make your life easier. Explain how you are aware of how hard they work – for you, in the home, at work, in the world.

A conversation like this is something a box of chocolates can’t achieve.

Oh… and if you do want to get them a present, ask them what they really want. Something just for them – and when they tell you what it is, don’t question it, discuss it or negotiate it- just do it.

And maybe you might want to add in something else – something more thoughtful and personal. Something just from you – that you think is an adequate tribute to that special person in your life.

Happy Mother’s Day 2021.

04/05/202102/07/2021

Oli and the Pink Bicycle – Bike books for difficult conversations with children: alcohol feotal syndrome & adoption

Books are good.

Bikes are great.

Books with bikes are better.

Books with bikes that help people are the best.

Books with bikes that help people have difficult conversations are the best.

Oli and the pink bike is a short story book for children about alcohol feotal syndrome.

Oli and the Pink Bicycle - Bike books for difficult conversations with children: alcohol feotal syndrome & adoption. Bicycles Create Change.com. 4th May 2021. — Image: Coram BAAF

What is the story about?

This UK short story introduces Oli and her adoptive family, and it follows Oli through her difficulties with behaviour and schoolwork. During the story, we learn about her condition, how it affects her, and all the good things about herself.

This story is designed for children aged seven to 11 whose development and behaviour has been affected by parental substance misuse, or who knows someone else who is affected. It is part of a series designed to teach children about a range of health conditions common to many looked after children.

After the story, there is a question and answer section covering a wide range of FAS topics and questions. There is also practical information and advice provided in a straightforward and child-friendly style.

Oli and the Pink Bicycle is one of a new series of books for children exploring health conditions that are common to many looked after children. Other titles in the series focus on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, dyslexia and emotional and behavioural difficulties. The books in the series will be invaluable for social workers, foster carers, adopters, residential workers, health care practitioners and teachers to use with children who have these health issues or who know an affected child.

Hats off to author Catherine Jackson who is a writer, journalist, cartoonist, and author of Parenting a child with mental health issues and illustrator Rachel Fuller (who has also done A safe place for Rufus, Why can’t I be good?, Elfa and the box of memories and Spark learns to fly). Great job team!

Basic Storyline – what to expect

It’s Oli’s seventh birthday – the first one since her new mamma and papa adopted her – and she’s really excited about the present she has been promised. A pink bicycle! But Oli’s special day doesn’t go to plan and she is so angry that she just screams and screams.

Nothing ever seems to go right for Oli. Her first mamma drank too much alcohol and took bad medicine when Oli was just a tiny bump in her tummy. Now Oli finds numbers and spelling difficult, can’t always make her arms and legs do what she wants them to and often loses her temper. Oli is sad and doesn’t know what to do, until the mysterious Aggie Witchhazel sets her a series of challenges to help her discover all the good things about herself.

Thoughts on this book – a review

The following book review is by Mrs. Dale van Graan who is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education at Kingston University. I like this review as it gives a few points about how to engage with this book with youngsters – in particular the idea of having ‘a secret list of friends’ – see more below.

This is a story about a seven-year-old little girl who has Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and who has been adopted. The story builds with a great deal of anticipation about and around her seventh birthday, describing some of the behavioural and emotional difficulties a child with FAS might experience in the home, at school and socially, as well as the potential impact of her behaviour on others in those environments. The main character meets a neighbour, a helpful adult who assists her in developing a strategy to identify resources within herself and in her environments, to help her.

What is particularly helpful is the child-friendly explanation of how a child may develop FAS and how her development, behaviour and emotion regulation may be affected. However, in my view the fact that she is also an adopted child did not necessarily add value, apart from if this resource was to be used specifically with children who have been adopted or to educate children more generally about some of the additional needs children who have been adopted may have.

The book is aimed at children aged 7–11 years, who may read it themselves, or alongside an adult who may be able to enter into some discussion, explain and elaborate on some of the concepts. The ‘story’ in itself is engaging and entertaining, with effective use of humour.

However, it is a little concerning that the character is encouraged to keep a secret list of friends who could help her and the circumstances under which she meets the helpful adult are a little questionable, so I would be reluctant to encourage a child to read this without adult support to promote discussion and comprehension.

Simple illustrations and a short game at the end are likely to enhance the appeal of the book for children.

Another very useful aspect of the book is the question-and-answer section at the end, which covers a range of queries and concerns about FAS, from a child’s perspective, and practical information and advice, in a straightforward manner. Although published by BAAF, I would suggest that the book has relevance to a wide range of children and could be most effectively used in a classroom context.

van Graan, D. (2015). Oli and the pink bicycle [book review]. Practice: Social work in action, 27. pp. 233 – 234. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2015.1026056

Parts of this post sourced from Corambaaf.com and News from Nowhere.

05/04/202110/06/2021

Some ‘wheelie’ specific bike tattoos

This blog is no stranger to bicycle tattoos.

In earlier posts, I have looked at:

In this post, we are looking at a very specific subset of bike tattoo and that is – bike tattoos that have specifically detailed colour or design included in the bike wheels … or what I call … ‘wheelie’ specific bike tattoos.

I scoured the internet and rolled through hundreds of cool, funny and (at times) questionable bike tattoos to find 5 solid representations of tattoos that have details in the bike wheels as their central focus.

In each of these cases, colour and form was used as the central cohesive design feature.

Let’s have a look…

Some 'wheelie' specific bike tattoos. Bicycles Create Change.com. 5th April 2021. — @Mountainbike on Pintrest

The first two tattoos (see above) have a similar aesthetic which uses a sunset or landscape scenery as the key motif. I put two versions of this design here as the gentle difference in colours has quite a significant impact on the ‘feel’ of the overall tattoo, yet the symbolism is equally clear and meaningful. Having mountains on the side and a river or track running through the middle helps accentuate the perspective of the ‘never-ending great outdoors’ so desired by bike riders. This iconography is made all the more striking when contained within the circular frame of both wheels which (also) forms a simple black bike frame silhouette with no background. Interestingly, I sourced both these tattoos from the same location, which makes me wonder if this specific design is ‘a mountainbike thang.’

The third tattoo (above) is more of a whimsical, flowery bike design interpretation made more impactful with the use of the two strongly contrasting and complementary colors of blue and red. This is an unsual and particular tattoo that stands out for its unconventional and creative design – a bold choice for a permanent tattoo!

The fourth tattoo (above) is a calf single wheel tattoo highlighted by the distinctive red and black diagrammatic colouring that really makes it pop. This tattoo is dramatic in its almost tribal-style patterning. The composition is controlled, yet creative with clean and authoritative lines that clearly accentuate the ‘wheel-ness’ of the design. The strong outlines are offset by the red 5-petaled flower at the centre of the wheel, hinting to the softer interior of the ‘hard-wheeled’ rider-owner who is bold enough to wear it.

The last tattoo (above) looks like it takes its cue from graphic design using both colour, texture and geometric patterning to good effect. On closer inspection, it almost looks like the texture of puff paints (it did make me second guess whether this was a ‘real’ tattoo) or maybe the tattoo had just been applied and was brand new, hence the raised (or skin reactive) beveling of work.

Tattoos – and more specifically bike tattoos – are not for everyone. But there are many people who love riding and want to celebrate, share and commemorate bikes with tattoos. And these ‘wheelie’ bike tattoos are just one example of people do this.

Which begs the question:

If you were to get a bike tattoo, where and what would you get?

27/03/202106/06/2021

Women’s Ride4Justice: Reclaiming darkly bike paths on UN International Day of Forests

March is a busy month!

Around the world, March is known as ‘Women’s Month’.

The last few posts have shared some events that celebrate female achievements and raise awareness for women, gender and social justice issues, such as Women’s History Month (Royal Australia Historical Society, Dr Katie Phillips (USA) and Dr Kat Jungnickel (UK) as well the Brisbane chapter of one of the Australian Women’s March4Justice protests – which I attended in appropriate bike-based attire, replete with a dual-sided (inclusive-confrontational) homemade sign.

But not many people know that March 21st was the UN International Day of Forests.

So to commemorate both Women’s Month and Day of the Forests, I put the call out to three inspiring female friends (Nix, Alex and Wendy) who work to improve gender and environmental imperatives – and invited them to come for a night-time ride along our bayside foreshore to visit the ‘Tree of Light’ to honour the ‘every tree counts’ key theme for this year’s Day of Forests.

And so we did – and we had a great time!

It was low-key, colourful and super fun.

I let them know I was dressing up and they were welcome to join me if they wanted to. I know dressing up is not everyone’s jam – but they all arrived at my place dressed up as well! Not only was this a way to have fun, but it was also a subversive ‘up-yours’ to social expectations of what is ‘appropriate’ for a woman to wear in public and traditional views of women dressing ‘properly’ and ‘conservatively’.

My idea was to go for a night ride ‘reclaim the night/bike path’ style. I deliberately arranged our departure for 7.30 pm – when it was ‘darkly’ – and after dinner – a time most women are socially trained to stay in as it is ‘not safe’ to be out at night.

There were four of us for this ride. On the ride were myself and the formidable Nix (who you might remember from the New Materialists Garden – PhD Retreat), as well as Wendy and Alex, who are two of ‘Green Aunties’ from my community garden. Both Wendy and Alex are in their legacy years and rode pedal-assist bikes.

Nina & Leki (L), Nix, Alex and Wendy (R)
Time for a chat
Alex cruising in style
Wendy and her ‘climate emergency response vehicle’ (bike)
Nix was resplendent!
Nina and Leki (flower bike) en route
Celebrating Women’s Month and Day of the Forests at our local ‘Tree of Light’.
Bight bike path lights
Leki’s caboose in the gloaming
Not so darkly female bike riders!

As if the aunties weren’t brave enough doing this ride, I also found out just before we left that Wendy and Alex had never been for a night ride before. This was a big win for women-them-us-community claiming public space – at night – in a super positive and direct way!

It was a stunning evening – clear, warm and inviting. The moon was out and our community was safe and welcoming.

We saw a few people as we started out, but the more we rode, the less people there were about until we saw no one on our return trip at all. We had the whole place to ourselves! While we rode we discussed what it felt like to be ‘out alone’ and ‘roaming the streets.

It was brilliant!

We rode 6kms along the foreshore, then stopped at the ‘The Tree of Lights’ to have a break where we joked, enjoyed, paid homage to women’s month – and trees and forests. Then I rode my guests happily home.

Our ride was a small, but wonderfully personal way to honour and celebrate sisterhood, forests, and being free to ride our bikes wherever and whenever we want to.

If you have not been out for night ride recently – I highly recommend it.

Grab a mate and your bikes and go visit a tree in your area!

Happy riding!

Key messages of the UN International Day of Forests

The UN are promoting 8 key messages for the 2021 International Day of Forests:

Healthy forests mean healthy people.

Forests provide health benefits for everyone, such as fresh air, nutritious foods, clean water, and space for recreation. In developed countries, up to 25 percent of all medicinal drugs are plant-based; in developing countries, the contribution is as high as 80 percent.

Forest food provides healthy diets.

Indigenous communities typically consume more than 100 types of wild food, many harvested in forests. A study in Africa found that the dietary diversity of children exposed to forests is at least 25 percent higher than that of children who are not. Forest destruction, on the other hand, is unhealthy – nearly one in three outbreaks of emerging infectious disease are linked to land-use change such as deforestation.

Restoring forests will improve our environment.

The world is losing 10 million hectares of forest – about the size of Iceland – each year, and land degradation affects almost 2 billion hectares, an area larger than South America. Forest loss and degradation emit large quantities of climate-warming gases, and at least 8 percent of forest plants and 5 percent of forest animals are at extremely high risk of extinction. The restoration and sustainable management of forests, on the other hand, will address the climate-change and biodiversity crises simultaneously while producing goods and services needed for sustainable development.

Sustainable forestry can create millions of green jobs.

Forests provide more than 86 million green jobs and support the livelihoods of many more people. Wood from well-managed forests supports diverse industries, from paper to the construction of tall buildings. Investment in forest restoration will help economies recover from the pandemic by creating even more employment.

It is possible to restore degraded lands at a huge scale.

The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, launched by the African Union in 2007, is the most ambitious climate-change adaptation and mitigation response under implementation worldwide. It seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon and create 10 million green jobs by 2030, while greening landscapes in an 8 000 km belt across Africa’s drylands. Vast areas of degraded land elsewhere would also become highly productive again if restored with local tree species and other vegetation.

Every tree counts.

Small-scale planting and restoration projects can have big impacts. City greening creates cleaner air and more beautiful spaces and has huge benefits for the mental and physical health of urban dwellers. It is estimated that trees provide megacities with benefits worth USD 0.5 billion or more every year by reducing air pollution, cooling buildings and providing other services.

Engaging and empowering people to sustainably use forests is a key step towards positive change.

A healthy environment requires stakeholder engagement, especially at the local level so that communities can better govern and manage the land on which they depend. Community empowerment helps advance local solutions and promotes participation in ecosystem restoration. There is an opportunity to “rebuild” forest landscapes that are equitable and productive, and that avert the risks to ecosystems and people posed by forest destruction.

We can recover from our planetary, health and economic crisis. Let’s restore the planet this decade.

Investing in ecosystem restoration will help in healing individuals, communities and the environment. The aim of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which starts this year, is to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It offers the prospect of putting trees and forests back into degraded forest landscapes at a massive scale, thereby increasing ecological resilience and productivity. Done right, forest restoration is a key nature-based solution for building back better and achieving the future we want.

22/03/202104/06/2021

Women’s March4Justice – Brisbane

March is Women’s Month. March 8th was International Women’s Day and throughout the month there are many other events highlighting a range of social and gender justice issues.

There were major March4Justice protests organised in all major cities (and elsewhere) around Australia on March 15th.

It was epic!

So I headed to the Brisbane protest to march!

I brought my own two-sided sign.

One side was super inclusive, the other a little more ‘confrontational’.

A friend called the controversial side the ‘the thinking person’s sign.’ GOLD!

Heaps of people said the loved the sign (both sides) and I go lots of COVID Hi-5s.

I wore parts of my 2019 International Women’s Day outfit (if you have not seen the whole thing – click here now) which is made out of bicycle parts and recycled materials.

It uses bicycle inner tubes, wheel spokes and bike parts, broken jewellery, second-hand objects and curb-side barbie dolls. The sash is reminiscent of a beauty pageant, yet echoes the idea that even though women may feel free to move (the barbies bodies swing – but only as I move), they are in many ways still ‘keep in line’ (strangled by the confines of the sash’). The blondes are at the top, while the brunette (representing any/every ‘other’) is at the bottom of ‘the beauty hierarchy’. The headpiece mixes themes of gender expectations, worship, money, sex, religion, plastic surgery and armour together into a quasi-tiara-cum-pagan headdress which is deliberately a little ‘off'(-set) and awkwardly constructed.

I wore this with my Frida Kahlo custom-made face mask and my Dark and Disturbing BECAUSE RACISM t-shirt – with my sign held high.

It was a good turn out and we marched strong.

It was very challenging hearing so many stories of disadvantage, abuse, injustice and oppression – difficult, but also very important.

There is so much that needs to change.

To find out where, when and why the protests were hitting the streets, Alicia Nally (ABC) here.

And some good commentary, Like Hayley Gleeson’s for the ABC looking at what happened after the protests as well.

Alyx Gorman wrote a good outline of the Australian protests for The Guardian wrote:

Across Australia, survivors and their allies will be calling for gender equality, and justice for victims of sexual assault, through a series of protests under the banner March 4 Justice.

The focal point of the protests will be a rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on 15 March, which many people have stated they are travelling from interstate to attend.

There, March4Justice organiser Janine Hendry alongside Dr Anita Hutchison and Dr Kate Ahmad from Doctors Against Violence Towards Women, will be presenting parliament with two petitions outlining both broad and specific requests for further action.

Outside of Canberra, there will be approximately 40 local events around Australia, starting in Perth on Sunday 14 March. Organisers are projecting that 85,000 people will participate across the country.

The protests follow a wave of allegations of sexual assault, abuse and misconduct in some of the highest offices of Australian politics.

Start of Brisbane Protest
Nina and friends
Source: ABC News
Brisbane March 4 Justice
Brisbane March 4 Justice
Source: March4Justice
Brisbane protest
Source: March4Justice
Nina and friends
Source: ABC News

All Brisbane protest march and ‘Nina with friends’ photos by Nina Ginsberg.

Source: March4Justice unless otherwise attributed.

03/03/202106/05/2021

Women’s History Month – March 2021

Internationally, March is known as women’s history month.

The aim of this initiative is to redress previously omitted women’s participation and achievements from being known by celebrating women’s contributions to history, culture and society.

There are many exhibitions, projects, protests and events run during March that raise awareness for the significance, roles, struggles and issues of women and girls.

So to kick off ‘Women’s Month’, here are three more-than-usual initiatives that are exemplary in celebrating a range of women’s achievements.

Enjoy!

Royal Australian Historical Society

The official Royal Australian Historical Society (RAHS) ‘Women’s History Month’ website page caught my eye this year.

This page celebrates March being Women’s History by highlighting a range of Australian women and the diverse contributions they’ve made to Australia’s history.

What I like about this particular page is that it is inclusive and immediately understandable in what it is trying to achieve. Having a simple photo album-style layout showcasing significant women (with names and dates) makes it quick and easy to get a sense of the range of cultural backgrounds (Indigenous, Australian-Chinese, European immigrants, white) and their contributions (politics, literature, arts, sport, law and many others) over time – ranging from Fanny Balbuk Yooreel (1840) to Everly Scott (2017).

I think it is imperative to not only name the person but also to give each woman just identity. Consider how many times you’ve seen historical male figures of significance. There is ALWAYS a photo of them to reinforce their status as ‘important’ and that ‘this individual is not only someone you should know the name of, but you should know what they look like.’

Including images of women is a political move in this regard. It’s a critical move to shift past erasures of significant women from not just naming them (whereby their name is ‘listed’ and therefore at risk of being yet again ‘lost’ in the density of descriptive discourse), but so that the uniqueness of each woman is also recognised – as well as their name.

Photos are especially important given that surnames are patrilineal (assigned by fathers and husbands) so it is usually only first names that distinguish individuals from others. Linking women to their first and surnames with their photos helps to identify AND personalise these women beyond a perfunctory mention by name in passing. This is what the RAHS site does well.

There are so many incredible women listed on the RAHS – and many that most Australians have probably never heard about. For example: Muruwari Community worker and filmmaker Essie Coffey (otherwise known as the Bush Queen of Brewarrina), or Ruby Payne-Scott who was Australia’s first woman radio Astronomer, or one of Australia’s first great actors Rose Quong, who was a breakthrough given her Chinese heritage during the Australian White Policy, or WWI war correspondent Louise Mack.

If you’re down under or have not seen this site yet – go check it out! It is a great starting point resource to learn-talk-share about incredible Australian women.

Dr. Katie Phillips #WomensHistoryMonth

I’m following Dr Katie Phillips’ Twitter account for all of March.

In an act of radical generosity and support, each day, Katie uploads a different post each day that shares the voices, work and contributions of highly influential, but lesser-known Native, First Nations and Indigenous women from what is now called the USA.

This project was a real eye-opener for me. Not only did I appreciate the forethought, planning and process that Katie applied to make this happen, but it was also an incredibly educational initiative that has far-reaching scope and implications.

Twitter’s limited text allowances meant that each day, Katie provides the name, image and brief synopsis about ‘the woman of the day’ and her significant contribution. I not only learned about these incredible women (which, as an Australian, I would have not have been exposed to), but this approach is also an invitation (and reminder) to keep learning about amazing women elsewhere around the world.

I found myself following up on many of the women Katie posted, wanting to know more about their conditions and experiences.

As a teacher, researcher, creative, and someone with half a brain and a heart, I was impressed by Katie’s approach. It showed a genuine commitment to decolonizing history and better accounting for diverse women’s experiences.

F@*king incredible work!

Dr. Kat Jungnickel – Bikes and Bloomers

Of course we must have something on bike riding!

I’ve previously posted on this blog about researcher-creative Dr Kat Jungnickel’s work which perfectly fits the theme for Women’s History Month!

Kat’s specific interest area is reinvigorating Victorian women investors and their amazing cyclewear. She published a book based on her PhD research called Bikes and Bloomers. Here’s a description of the book from Kat’s portfoilo:

The bicycle in Victorian Britain is often celebrated as a vehicle of women’s liberation. But much less is known about another critical technology with which women forged new and mobile public lives – cycle wear. Despite its benefits, cycling was a material and ideological minefield for women. Conventional fashions were inappropriate, with skirts catching in wheels and tangling in pedals. Yet wearing more identifiable ‘rational’ cycle wear could elicit verbal and sometimes physical abuse from parts of society threatened by newly mobile women.

In response, pioneering women not only imagined, made and wore radical new forms of cycle wear but also patented their inventive designs. The most remarkable of these were convertible costumes that enabled wearers to secretly switch ordinary clothing into cycle wear.

This highly visual social history of women’s cycle wear explores Victorian engineering, patent studies and radical feminist invention. Underpinned by three years of in-depth archival research and inventive practice, this new book by Kat Jungnickel brings to life in rich detail the lesser-known stories of six inventors and their unique contributions to cycling’s past and how they continue to shape urban life for contemporary mobile women.

Talk about raising awareness for previously hidden women’s achievements! Go Kat!

Happy Women’s History Month all!

03/02/202106/04/2021

Part 1: Background. Sri Lankan Police to rebuild community trust with bicycle patrols

Over the last decade, there has been an influx in the use of bicycles in mainstream civil services. Some examples of these I have shared previously include:

Another project that has caught my eye is a Sri Lankan community bike policing program. I’m interested because Sri Lanka is such a vastly different context to the West – and it has a volatile history and relationships between community and police are often strained.

So I have dedicated the next few posts tracing the development of this program. I’m using articles written by locals and those who are closer to, and more knowledgeable about Sri Lanka than I am.

For some background, below is an article written in 2012 by Gita Sabharwal*, who was the Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Sri Lanka. The Asia Foundation funded this project to start in 2009 and this early article by Gita provides some historical context and personal experience to set the scene.

As an active supporter for greater diversity and to support the work, exposure and voice for more non-European female professionals, I’ve included Gita’s article in full below as she originally wrote it and emphasis is my own.

Enjoy!

Part 1: Background. Sri Lankan Police to rebuild community trust with bicycle patrols. Bicycles Create Change.com. 3rd February 2021.

Bicycle Patrols Rebuild Trust Between Sri Lanka’s Police and Communities

Still recovering from the effects of a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009, Sri Lanka is now seeing hopeful signs that one of its deepest wounds – the relationship between the police and the community – is improving.

During the war, police were often preoccupied with counter-insurgency and national security. As a result, mistrust between communities and the police force grew, particularly in the North and East where police often viewed community members as potential threats to security, as opposed to a constituency they serve.

For years, much of the interaction between the general public and the police has occurred at police stations when citizens reported a crime and at vehicle checkpoints, where most identity checks are performed. But, with the end of the war in 2009, police service is gradually making the shift from a “securitized” form of policing to a community-oriented one. As part of its larger institutional reform initiative, the leadership of the Sri Lanka Police Service (SLPS) is set on making the police a more professional and “people-friendly” service.

As part of this initiative, 43 cities and towns in the North, East, South, and Uva have over the last eight months introduced bicycle patrolling to improve community-police relationships, deter petty crimes, and offer citizens the opportunity to interact with police officers positively in public places. While patrolling has historically been a part of the Sri Lankan policing system, community policing emphasizes the importance of engaging with citizens while on patrol to become better known throughout the community, stay informed about local activities, and be available to receive complaints or give advice.

Background: Sri Lankan Police initial work to build community trust with bicycle patrols. Bicycles Create Change.com. 3rd February 2021.

Recently, the deputy inspector general of Uva Province told me that he has found bicycle patrolling to be a cost-effective and efficient way to increase access and mobility of the police to more remote areas, which often lack roads that can be navigated by patrol cars. With greater interaction with communities, the police are also able to gather information about local crime and conflicts and identify “hot-spots” so that they can increase patrols in those locations. Some community members who we interviewed said that they are now able to not only access the police during routine patrols, but also avoid the daunting task of visiting police stations to report crimes.

In northern Vavuniya town, since November 2011, 12 police officers have been assigned to the more populated parts of town for bicycle patrolling. Local sergeant Gunawardena said that he along with three other police officers bicycle through the densely populated lanes and by-lanes of the market area of Vavuniya town from two in the afternoon to 10 at night.

Since the end of the war, cases of petty theft have been on the increase in Vavuniya, due in part to better reporting and the return to normal policing functions, including investigation of complaints lodged with the police. The Inspector of Police, Ranatunga, who leads the bicycle patrol project in Vavuniya, said he believes that as a result of regular patrolling, fear of crime has reduced among citizens who now feel a greater sense of safety and security.

Local citizens and police interviewed in Vavuniya agreed that conducting bicycle patrols helps develop relationships, deter petty crimes, and offer citizens the opportunity to interact with local police officers.

In these small town and cities, bicycle patrolling also helps deter minor and major crimes due to increased police contact with the public and faster response time and capability. It allows police officers to respond to emergency calls quickly and be present at the crime scene in real time. One community member in Matara, where four constables and sergeants have been patrolling the streets over the past six months, recently told me: “I experienced a sharp reduction in pick-pocketing due to the regular presence of police, and we’ve seen a development of better relations between the police and community … the officers travel on bicycles, we also travel on bicycles.”

The officer-in-charge of Ambalangoda police station recently described a situation where the police were able to arrive quickly to a crime scene and arrest a suspect that was later found to be involved in over 25 illegal activities. He echoes a common sentiment: “The resources for the police are limited, but still we are trying to cover a large area. Because of this, we started the bicycle project, where we can patrol night and day, in the city and suburbs.”

The deputy inspector general of Uva Province recalled a story from earlier this year of three constables who were cycling down the main street in Buttala town late evening as part of their regular patrolling routine. The bus en-route from the capital, Colombo, stopped at the bus station on the way to Moneragala. A single passenger got off the bus, and seemed shocked upon seeing police constables around. Noticing his uneasiness, one of the constables approached him. Before they could strike a conversation the passenger pepper-sprayed the constables and tried to run away. However, alert onlookers caught him in time. When he was taken to the police station, the officers realized that he was part of a small criminal gang and was planning operations in the area, which the local police were able to intercept, thanks to the bicycle patrols.

With Sri Lanka’s tumultuous war-time period over, and the once highly securitized environment relaxing, this initiative allows the police to rebuild their relationships with the community, instilling trust and confidence among citizens that they can provide them with safety and security in their day-to-day lives.

*Gita Sabharwal can be reached at gsabharwal@asiafound.org.

For more information on the bicycle patrolling initiative, watch a video, produced by The Asia Foundation in partnership with the Sri Lanka Police Service with the support of the British High Commission, on the Sri Lanka Police website.

11/01/202108/03/2021

Meet @blackmuslimwomenbike

An ongoing question I have posed on this blog is: How is your bike riding contributing to making the world a better place for all?

In western countries, we think little of getting up, getting on our bikes and going for a bike ride – this is because we feel confident, safe and secure riding in our communities.

It’s easy to take for granted the inclusive access, rights and conditions we enjoy – not all cyclists are privy to the same recognition, value and acceptance that mainstream white MAMILs, (middle-aged men in lyrca) for example, experience.

This blog works to bring a range of other-than-the-dominant-norm ‘cycling’ perspectives.

Some examples which are well worth a look if you missed them include:

Celebrating the debut of the first ever black African female road cyclist Jeanne d’Arc Girubuntu (Team Rwanda) into the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond (USA).
Meeting keen mountainbiker and artist Brooklyn Bell who discussed her experiences of being a woman of colour in a predominately all-white MTB scene in the US.
The incredible advocacy and bravery of the forbidden women riding bikes in Iran – a group of female bike riders who continue to push to be recognised despite a 2016 fatwa prohibiting Iranian women from riding bikes in public spaces.

Since their Instagram inception in May last year, I’ve been following @blackmuslimwomenbike.

This group of riders proudly and publicly working to fray dominant views about cycling and of what cycling bodies ‘do’, what cycling bodies should look like, and who gets recognised and valued in cycling…and to raise the profile of black, Muslim, female riders.

Meet @blackmuslimwomenbike

This group is an Instagram collective celebrating black, Muslim women who ride bikes.

Their profile shares photos, stories and quotes and bring together bike riders from around the world.

Each week, the organisers introduce a new rider by sharing a photo, a short bio and the rider’s responses to these 4 questions:

What inspired you to cycle?
How would you sum up your (biking) experience so far?
How important is it to have platform that represents you?
What advice would you give to other black, Muslim women cyclists?

Despite being relatively new, this group has a growing network and support base.

They are actively involved in a number of big ticket social riding events and have instigated their own fundraiser to support a hospital in Senegal.

I find this group exciting as they are actively building community and supporting each other to hold space and be recognised as riders, they are a formidable group of women working to make change, and are telling their own biking stories in their own words.

So if you haven’t done so already, check this group out, follow them and tell others.

Background to @blackmuslimwomenbike

Friends Muneera and Sabah were both living in Bristol, UK. During COVID they were looking for a way to keep fit and stay happy. Sabah has a triathlon background and was keen to stay active. Unbeknownst to each other, the two friends started cycling independently.

Soon after, Sabah left the UK to live in UAE and Muneera started sharing her journey in a more formal way to centre focus on diversity and inclusion and draw attention to black Muslim women specifically – hence @blackmuslimwomenbike.

Sabah joined her so they could share their biking experiences and adventures with each other (now they lived apart) and more broadly.

Soon after they were joined by Mona and Rashida and together these four women are the driving force behind the group.

Their first post is an image of Muneera wearing her helmet with the description:

“We are doing it all, the hijab, the biking cap and the helmet. As we embark on this beautiful journey that we have found, You have to be the representation that we want to see, the star we want to see, the black girls on bikes in our dreams.”

All images: IG @blackmuslimwomenbike

10/12/202026/02/2021

#Bikes_CISTA #50: John, Diesel, Roxy & Bike

There are many reasons why I love where I’m currently living and riding. I live on Narlang Quandamooka land which is Morton Bayside 25 km out of Brisbane (AUST).

In my neighbourhood, we have fantastic bayside foreshore pathways, heritage-listed Mangrove reserves, native bushland and swathes of green parklands. The natural environment was a definitive reason for us choosing to live here.

I’m often out and about on my bike and I love to meet people who are doing the same.

While I’m in the throes of data analysis and working hard on my PhD bicycle research, it feels even more important to keep connected with the two-wheeled community.

One of the early projects I started with this blog was my Instagram @bicycles_create_change.

I have a number of ongoing side projects that I like to keep percolating. My Instagram #Bikes_CISTA project is one I have not updated in a while due to COVID and I was delighted to have the opportunity to do so recently.

My Instagram #Bikes_CISTA project

Long-time readers of this blog will be familiar with my Instagram #Bikes_CISTA project.

This is an ongoing project I started in February 2017.

The ‘CISTA’ acronym of #Bikes_CISTA stands for Cycling Interspecies Team of Awesomeness.

The Cycling Interspecies Team of Awesomeness (or Bikes_CISTA) Project is a photographic collection of encounters I’ve had with biking strangers while riding Leki (my flower bike) around my neighbourhood. It features people I spontaneously see, introduce myself to, have a chat with and invite them to join ‘the team’ (completely optional).

The eligibility for a #Bikes_CISTA invite requires:

at least one person
at least one dog
at least one bike
all are happy to stop and have a chat with me
are happy for me to share their photo and their CISTA story

It is a great way to keep me connected to my community, actively meet new people and celebrate one of the most important (non-religious) ‘holy trinities’ of being a positive and active community member that I hold near and dear: being on bikes, being with dogs and being outside enjoying nature and community….and all this at once.

I’ve previously written about the origins and perks of the #Bikes_CISTA and how instrumental it is in my community-social health practice.

COVID put a serious dent in #Bikes_CISTA activities. The last entry was #Bikes_CISTA #49 on November 2019. Considering at start of 2020 I was in West Africa for fieldwork and then COVID hit – I suppose no updates is actually quite reasonable! Since then, I haven’t given it much thought until this week I was presented with a golden #Bikes_CISTA opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.

So without further ado – meet John, his bike, Diesel and Roxy … who are our #Bikes _CISTA #50!

#Bikes_CISTA are back!

Meet John, his bike, Diesel and Roxy – #Bikes_CISTA

I was out walking Zoe during a PhD study break and I saw this awesome team riding towards me. The trailer caught my eye. Spontaneously I blurted out something to John as he rode toward me about how cool the trailer was and how great it was to see him and the dogs out on two wheels.

To my delight, John was happy to stop and have a chat – woo-hoo!

Diesel is the larger white bitsa in the front and Roxy is in the back. These two dynamos are rescue dogs and a very happy misfit pair – what a great outcome for all!

John lives in Cleveland and often rides Diesel and Roxy along the Morton Bay Cycleway for a regular cruisey Cleveland-Thornside-Lota-Manly return ride.

John’s dog trailer is simple but effective. He has modified a standard trailer setup to include shade ontop and Roxy’s basket on the end. He has to augment the axel a little to redistribute the weight for the two pooches.

There are rubber insulated mats on the floor plus a little extra cushioning for puppy comfort.

I was interested to hear he had put some barrier up around the bottom of the tray to make sure wayward tails didn’t get knocked about or accidentally caught in wheels, which was a particularly considerate addition.

We chatted happily in the afternoon sun about bikes, dogs, riding with dogs and riding this local route – all while the puppies watched on.

I love that John was wearing a ‘No bad dogs’ T-shirt as well!

Funnily enough the very next day after meeting this crew, I saw them again while riding Leki along the foreshore. I was cruising past a busy tourist area and saw John’s bike parked under a tree.

I stopped and left my business card, but then I saw John walking Diesel and Roxy a little further on. How lucky!

So we stopped for another chat. Hooray!

This dual interaction made me so happy. I loved the opportunistic randomness of the initial connection which was fun and interesting and genuine – and then to have it reinforced the very next day was just lovely.

I’ll be keeping my eyes open for this fantastic #Bikes_CISTA team from now on.

It makes me happy to know there are awesome bike-people-dogs like this cruising around my community spreading positivity, good company, and wholeheartedly celebrating the #Bikes_CISTA philosophy in their own engaging way.

Happy return #Bikes_CISTA teams!