Going overseas for a bike tour is a great way to get around, see local sites and keep fit and active.
Increasingly, cyclists are either taking their bikes away with them or are signing up for a localised one or multi-day biking adventure such as ‘bike and cook‘ trips or ‘winery bike tours‘.
If you are planning to book a bike tour overseas, a key consideration should be to check whether the bike tour is officially registered as an Eco-tourism provider.
There is a massive social, economic and environmetal impact difference between bike tours that are Eco-tourist registered, and those who are not.
For Storyteller, Eco-tourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should adhere to ecotourism principles.
Ecotourism Principles
• Minimise impact. • Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect. • Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts. • Provide direct financial benefits for conservation. • Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people. • Raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate.
Image: Storytellers Eco-Bike Tours Cook Island
Cook Islands: Storytellers Eco-bike Tours
Storytellers stand by the principles of Ecotourism. They are the only Cook Islands Eco Tour on mountain bikes.
Storytellers give 10% of profits back to the community for development projects.
Their local storytellers (staff) are passionate and knowledgeable about the local culture, history and environment and love sharing stories of their heritage with guests.
So next time you look at a bike tour overseas, check to see if they are registered as a Eco-tourism operator – this will boost your enjoyment of the tour and help support local communities.
Brisbane, Fri 20th Sept. 2019. Nina and Leki joining 350,000 Australians protesting for Climate Action.
Last month, Leki and I joined 350,000 Australians nation-wide – and millions of people in over 150 countries worldwide – who hit the streets to rally for #ClimateAction. In Australia, there were mass rallies in 8 capital cities as well as 104 other centres. This day of action is known as ‘the student strikes for climate action’ and is led by Swedish Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.
8-year old Luca, who I had the pleasure of working with recently on a project, also went to the Climate Rally. I asked her if she could a guest blog post about what the event was like – and luckily she said yes. So here it is!
Thanks so much to Luca for putting this together!
Here is a few photos I took from the rally. See Luca’s review below.
Image: @courtwhip
Luca’s review of the Climate Action Rally (Brisbane).
On the weekend I went to the Climate Strike with my family.
We all made posters and marched in the city to fight climate change.
While we were marching we did lots of chants about global warming and saw some great posters that others had made.
My favourite said “It’s getting hot in here so take off all your coals”.
At the march I saw lots of people of all different ages. There were many kids there as well as adults.
At the beginning of the march we listened to talking and started a chant.
Then we started walking through the city. There were about 30,000 people at the protest.
I found the protest fun and exciting but my favourite part was marching around Brisbane.
It is my favourite month of the year for many reasons.
It is the best time of the year where I live in Brisbane, the weather is terrific and my garden is flourishing. It is early spring, so it means long warm days perfect for getting out being out riding!
Another great reason is that it is Inktober time again!
Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober challenge to produce a piece of work each day for the entire month.
Inktober was first created by artist Jake Parker in 2009. He set it as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since caught on and other creatives now use Inktober as a stimulus to get inspired and get productive: drawers, painters, visual artists, designers, writers, poets, illustrators and more. It has grown into a worldwide event that has thousands of artists taking the challenge every year.
Each year, Jake sets a one-word prompt for each day in the month. This is used to produce a piece of work for each day for 31 days. Many people upload their work online using the official #Inktober or some similiar hashtag/reference to Inktober. Check it out if you’d like to see the range of the work that gets produced.
Of course, being bicycle-obsessed, I am always most interested in the artwork that features bicycles. I love how many artist work bikes into their designs.
So, to get us off to a great start this month, here’s a look at some of the 2019 bicycle-inspired Inktober productions.
Reference: Kirkpatrick, S. J. B. (2018). Pedaling disaster: Citizen bicyclists in disaster response—Innovative solution or unnecessary effort? Natural Hazards, 90(1), 365-389. doi:10.1007/s11069-017-3048-3
Image: CBC.com
Citizen bicyclists in disaster response
This post looks at the 2018 academic publication by Sarah Kirkpatrick from North Dakota State University. In this article, Kirkpatrick explores how citizen bicyclists might be used in times of disasters. A very interesting topic!
In this article, natural events where bicycles could be used is focused on the US context, so includes tornadoes, hurricanes, and severe storms. However, bicycle response to events like travel hazards, flooding, blizzards, and wildfire events was almost universally rejected.
The post-impact disaster actions Kirkpatrick says local bicyclists can do include: conducting search and rescue, evacuating survivors, giving medical care, consoling survivors, providing needed supplies, directing traffic, extinguishing fires, and removing debris.
This paper suggests that the involvement of citizen bicyclists in disaster response, the outcome could be very beneficial for both bicycling and emergency management communities.
The idea of citizen bicycle response stems from the growing popularity in the USA of Disaster Relief Trials (DRTs). DRTs are community events organised by local bicycling enthusiasts that demonstrate how bicycles can be used in disaster situations. Community emergency response team (CERT) programs were also highlighted as possible sources of training for bicyclists, as well as a means for bicyclists to be integrated into disaster response operations.
The article discusses current DRTs and how bicycles have been used in relief efforts, including:
USA During the response to the September 11th attacks in 2001, bicycle couriers could be found riding along the secured perimeter and delivering food (Kendra & Wachtendorf, 2003).
Japan In the immediate aftermath of the 2011 To ̄hoku earthquake, the combination of traffic gridlock and the shutdown of train services in the Tokyo metropolitan area compelled stranded commuters to mount bicycles—included ones purchased in the immediate aftermath of the event—to make the commute home (Takahara, 2011).
USA In the days following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, a group of bicyclists strapped a variety of donated goods ranging from diapers to blankets to their backs and bikes before pedaling the 15 or so miles through debris-laden streets from Brooklyn to the Rockaways to deposit their commodities (Goodyear, 2012).
Sri Lanka During disaster recovery, the period when activities are being undertaken to restore all stakeholders to self-sufficiency (Alesch et al. 2009), bicycles gifted to survivors of the 2005 tsunami in Sri Lanka proved a key element in assisting people with recovering their economic livelihood and social connections, as well as increasing their accessibility to service providers (World Bicycle Relief 2007).
Kirkpatrick argues that implementing citizen bicycle responders would be best suited to communities that already have an established bicycle-friendly locale. In these places, bicycle response take-up, use and engagement would be less resistant.
The discussion of citizen bicyclist disaster responders is also valuable in exploring alternatives to current approaches and in shifting attitudes of policy, organisational and emergency managers towards the use and engagement of citizen responders more broadly.
Citizen bicycle responders are identified as being particularly useful in specific tasks such as messaging/communication, commodities distribution, messaging, and casualty evacuation—as a ‘‘last mile’’ solution. The idea is that bicyclists can make short runs to create the final link between information hubs, centralised distribution points, or evacuation locations
I loved this quote from the article:
For bicycles to reach closer to their potential as a cure for urban maladies, they must advance beyond the dominions of mall-bound middle schoolers and lycra-clad weekend warriors to a broader ridership.
Gold!
Certain bicycle types or accessories are highlighted as serving as a sort of force multiplier for task execution, particularly related to commodities distribution or casualty evacuation. Specifically, the use of cargo bicycles, bicycles with attached trailers, and electric bicycles were mentioned as ways to enhance the ability of citizen bicyclists to move goods or other people through a disaster area.
The article also points out that there are some concerns about citizen bicyclists in disaster response. A principle example of this is that responses rely heavily on the actual person who is riding the bicycle—and the knowledge and skills that person brings—that matters to the response and dictates the bicyclists’ ultimate response value. Additionally, responders will need some sort of training (or have a base understanding) of bicycle maintenance, safe riding, how to communicate/coordinate/operate within the response network, general safety and first aid/CPR.
Some research participants further suggested that citizen bicyclists receive the full gamut of CERT training, with modules on disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, disaster medical, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, and disaster simulation exercise. The type of training frequency, responsibility, and depth would need to be formalised.
There have been several papers that have considered the safety aspect, weighing the costs of increased injury risk and exposure to pollution against the health and communal benefits of regular bicycling. The table below shows some examples of studiescoering a few of these factors.
Image: Kirkpatrick (2018).
Some essential tasks citizen bicycle responders can undertake are:
movement of needed commodities like food, water, medication, other supplies
delivery of messages within the impacted area
bicycles and their riders providing power generation
casualty evacuation
first aid
safety and wellness checks
search and rescue
damage assessment
Overall, this article opens up a meaningful conversation about considering bicycles use in disaster relief.
The most appealing aspect of this article is the focus on the citizen bicyclist – a largely untapped and little-discussed potential asset.
I love the idea of local riders and their bikes being integral to disaster responses efforts.
Just another way bicycles could create change!
Abstract
Citizens have historically become involved in response to disasters by helping both themselves and others. Recently, the idea has emerged of individuals providing this assistance in the response period using bicycles. Community events have been organised by bicycling enthusiasts in US cities to demonstrate how bicycles could potentially be of use in disaster situations. Yet, there has been no empirical research around the idea of citizen bicyclists in disaster response.
This study explored the potential use of bicycles and their citizen riders in disaster events in the USA—specifically considering what role, if any, citizen bicyclists could play in such scenarios. Data were initially collected through 21 in-depth, telephone interviews with emergency management officials and bicycling advocates from bicycle-friendly cities in ten different states. Grounded theory was used to conceptualise the overall research design and analyse the data.
Based on theoretical and snowball sampling, an additional six interviews were completed with individuals who had requisite knowledge and experiences applicable to the research question. Participants indicated that there are a variety of tasks and activities citizen bicyclists could undertake in disaster response; however, it would have to be an event of significant scope and magnitude for bicycle usage to be widespread—an unlikely occurrence for many jurisdictions.
Concerns about training and integration with the formal emergency management structure were also identified. Implications for potential citizen bicyclists—and citizen responders more broadly—are discussed.
Image: Little Rock Air Force Base News
Some content of this post is adapted from Kirkpatrick (2018).
For this Father’s Day – my recommendation has
an extra layer of bikey, grassroots, humanity, community, sustainability,
travel and creative inspiration folded into it.
My hot tip is to get the documentary film One Man’s Tour.
This is a charity documentary about New Zealand’s inaugural Tour Aotearoa. This brevete event was first run in 2016. A brevet is not a race. It is a ride following a set course, via 30 photo checkpoints, which you must complete between 10 and 30 days – no more and no less. It traverses across incredible scenery and landscapes – and you can well imagine the trials, tribulations and magic moments that occur.
The film follows the 260 brave riders who took on this first epic self-supported 3000km mountain bike ride across New Zealand, which goes from goes from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
The movie is inspiring and shows a range of
challenges the riders face. It also shows the inevitable ups and downs that
come with taking on endurance non-assisted bike rides – and this event is no
different. The scenery is breathtaking and makes you want to grab your bike and
book a flight.
Aside from being a great film to watch, you decide on how much to pay for this movie!
All funds raised by One Man’s Tour go to World Bicycle Relief (WBR). WBR gives bicycles to communities in
Sub-Saharan Africa to help locals better access school, healthcare and
stimulate employment opportunities.
In return for the documentary, you decide how
much money to give. When you pay on the link below, you will automatically
receive an email with a link to stream/download the movie.
The film has already raised $1,279 – with the aim to reach $3,000.
This is a great gift to give – for your dad, a
friend, or for yourself.
What’s not to like about supporting family, people, bikes, community and positive living?!
I don’t often directly repost stories on this blog. As a luddite, I am also very wary of social media. But amongst the doom and gloom of news reports, husband found this gem of humanity. It is the story of a former refugee, Mevan Babakar, who was given a bike by a refugee camp aid worker. 20 years on, she still remembers the kindness of the man and the joy of riding the bike. Mevan recently used Twitterverse to track the man down. Although this account is more about the power of Twitter and doesn’t have many details about the bike or what happened after she located him, I still love the idea that the simple gift of a biycle to a child can have such a profound and long-last impact.
It is also a reminder to make the effort to say thank you and/or recognise those who help and support us. Some valuable lessons for us all. This story is written by Maani Truu and was published in Australia by SBS online today. Enjoy! NG.
Thousands of people
have come together from across the globe to unite a former refugee and the aid
worker who bought her a bike.
A blurry film photo, a location and a
touching Twitter post launched an international hunt to find a man who gifted a
young refugee child a bike “out of the kindness of his own heart”
more than twenty years ago.
Now, after more than 3,000 retweets and
thousands of messages, London woman Mevan Babakar is set to meet the man who
made her “five-year-old heart explode with joy” in person.
On Monday, the 29-year-old former refugee posted her quest to Twitter hoping someone would recognise the man who worked at a refugee camp in the Netherlands when she was a child living there in the 90s.
“Hi internet, this is a long-shot BUT I
was a refugee for 5 yrs in the 90s and this man, who worked at a refugee camp
near Zwolle in the Netherlands, out of the kindness of his own heart bought me
a bike,” she wrote.
“My five-year-old heart exploded with
joy. I just want to know his name. Help?”
In under 24 hours, the post garnered
thousands of responses from around the world and on Tuesday evening,
Ms Babakar shared the exciting news.
“Guys, I knew the internet was great but this is something
else,” she said.
“We found him!”
Ms Babakar, who was born in Baghdad,
Iraq, to Kurdish parents, also said she was not the only refugee to be helped
by the unidentified man, known only as “Ab”.
“I’ve also had other refugees reach out
to me and tell me that he and his wife helped them too! Their kindness has
touched so many lives,” she wrote.
“One woman said ‘they weren’t friends
to me, they were family’.”
According to BBC News, Ms Babakar and her
parents fled Iraq during the first Gulf war, passing through refugee camps in
Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia before spending a year at the one near
Zwolle between 1994 and 1995.
Ms Babakar is now a tech expert, who currently lives in the UK and she has travelled back to Zwolle to research her family’s past.
Nâm Arya is a first generation
Tibetan-America. In 2016, she spent a year undertaking an epic bike-packing and
speaking tour of the U.S called Bike
for Tibet.
Her goal was to spread the word about the impacts of climate change in Tibet and to seek climate justice for Tibetans.
I got excited to find out more about the trip online. I went to Nâm’s online journal, but there was not much content there. Bummer because the trip itself sounds awesome! Even so, this initiative is so worthwhile. I suppose you have to go to one of the talks in order to get all the details! Fair play!
What is Bike for Tibet?
It was a year-long bicycle tour of the U.S. for the purpose
of bringing Tibet and Tibetans into the global conversation on climate justice.
Along the way Nâm offered 60+ min presentations
to discuss and dissect climate change issues in Tibet.
During these discussions, she highlighted key concerns
including the displacement of nomads, the effects of dams along Tibetan rivers,
and mining.
Nâm also outlined root causes,
false solutions, issues of colonization, and how democracy features within the
context of exploited communities.
A central theme in all the presentations is inter-dependence. She also linked wider issues from other communities seeking environmental justice in the US and abroad.
Who is Bike for Tibet?
Nâm is an exiled Tibetan woman
who was
born in Mungod Resettlement Camp in southern India. As a youth, she attended Tibetan boarding school in the
northern India until she immigrated to the US in 1996 where she now lives.
She and her bike-riding-mad partner Jonni undertook the 12-month Bike for Tibet journey together.
Jonni is adventure bicyclist and Instagram celebrity under the moniker UltraRomance. If you have not seen Jonni’s IG before, check it out – he is hilarious!
What a brilliant idea for a bike project! Get out on the road with your favourite person, ride around living a simple life and promote a very important environmental and social issue at the same time– wicked!
How did Bike for Tibet get started?
Nâm says she was inspired by Drukpa Rinpoche’s Eco Pad Yatra and the enduring work of Tibet climate change organizations working to vision to bring stabilise the Himalaya Plateau.
She created Bike For Tibet to be a nexus for these projects, influences and practices – as well as something she loves best to do – biking!
The Bike for Tibet project builds on Nâm’s decade-long leadership and work within the environmental movement.
Nâm used crowd funding to get Bike for Tibet up and running. Although she is advocating for climate action, Bike for Tibet is independent and not affiliated with any one particular group.
Some parts of this post were taken from the Bike for Tibet website to ensure accuracy of facts. All images by Bike for Tibet or IG UltraRomance unless otherwise indicated.
This month, another unsettling story of a youth on a bike being killed emerged– but this one was years ago and even more complex.
The story comes from Reuters journalist Andrew Gray.
In 2003, Andrew was
embedded with a US tank battalion during the Iraq invasion.
Of all that Andrew experienced during his tour, it was a photo of the shooting of a boy riding his bike that had the most enduring and profound impact.
Andrew wanted to know why the
young bike rider was shot.
In a recent
ABC radio interview, Andrew explained why this particular incident haunted
him and why he decided to follow it up.
How ‘the boy on a bike’ reveals so much more.
Image: ABC Earshot
The image above was the impetus
that lead Andrew to interview locals and military personnel, dig into archives,
track down eyewitnesses, and keep pushing for explanations long after others
had moved on.
His journey is now a documentary, called ‘The boy on a bike’.
In the documentary, Andrew tries
to unpack the issues, people and events involved that ended with the shooting
of a boy riding his bike. Andrew said “I’ve spent 16 years trying to find out
the truth about the war crime allegation. None of it has been easy.
It is an incredible story.
While I was reading, I couldn’t help but think of how many other people have been affected by this. Immediately, there is the boy’s family, his community, those who saw what happended, other military personnel, and the news professionals involved in distributing the story – but also those who are hearing the story for the first time.
In his story, Andrew recounts eyewitness statement, raises critical moral questions, delves into the complexity of wartime experiences – and yes, he finally does find out who the bike rider was.
I’ve never quite been able to let go of the story
of the boy on the bike.
It set me on an international quest that has lasted
16 years, to find out if a war crime was committed that day.
I have sat opposite a soldier accused by his
comrades of murder. I have asked people to revisit deeply painful memories. I
have tried to find the answer to a grieving mother’s question: “Why did
they kill my son?”
None of it has been easy.
I’ve had to ask difficult questions of myself too.
Why am I doing this? Is one small incident in a big
war worth it? Is it even possible to reach back through the confusion of war
and the fading of memories to find an answer?
And do I have the right — or the stomach — to
publicly judge soldiers under great pressure in wartime?
The joy of being a cycling mum. Image: Trek Cycles
Today is Mother’s Day.
The idea of Mother’s Day is to honour mothers for all they have done.
Traditionally, family members give flowers, cards and gifts, or make mums breakfast in bed or take them out for lunch. Or something that is similarly supportive and nice.
I went online to see what was being peddled specifically for ‘cycling mums’.
I expected to see the normal product-pushing commercial crap (which was all there of course), but then I saw an article I found very disturbing.
It was on BikeRoar, a website touted as being an independent product resource website devoted to helping cyclists #BuyLocal – fair enough.
Published last year under the section heading TECH TIPS, it was written by Australian cyclist Jayne Rutter and titled 11 Mother’s Day gifts for cycling mums.
The list of 11 gift ideas looked innocent enough.
The first item was a water bottle.
The second was a free massage.
The third was a book.
The fourth ‘a 2-hour leave pass from the kids’ to ride to a local café
The fifth was a Run Angel Personal Safety Device
…………..and it was the last one that stopped me.
Image: BikeRoar’s #5 top gift for Mothers Day
I didn’t read on.
There is so much wrong with this list.
First, the article is listed under ‘Tech Tips’. It has 11 items, but only one (#5 above) is actually a tech product. There is a Garmin mount (#6), but not the actual Garmin. Odd. I sincerely hope this is not because of some preconditioned, subtle, habitual, gender stereotype like women aren’t good at tech…. 1 out of 11?
But more than that, it was the actual product #5 itself I found unsettling.
I appreciate that this product comes from a place of concern.
But its very existence is a recognition that abuse of women is so widespread that no woman is safe – at any time.
Violence against women has become so commonplace that giving a personal safety alarm to our mothers is one of the top five gifts we can get her. Really? Top five. I find that so disturbing.
Have we become so accepting and desensitised that violence against women occurs so regularly that we are equipping our mothers with panic alarms – for when they ride their bikes in broad day light!
What the hell!!
Do you know any male cyclists who wear
panic alarms?
I find it disconcerting that most people would not see, or question how disempowering for women this seemingly harmless Mother’s Day list and the giving of a personal alarm is. And therein lies the issue.
Female bike riders are at risk
It can be hard to recognise and understand the
scale of abuse women experience.
Women face physical and sexual abuse all the time.
Women constantly get unwanted comments, looks, sniggers, honks and disparaging, offensive, sexualised remarks like ‘I’d hold a knife to that’ (said by two men walking past Laura Bates*). We live in a society where ‘I feel rapey’ t-shirts are now sold on Ebay.*
It can be challenging for the amazing men
in our lives to understand the extent and danger to physical safety that just being
a female is.
Just because you might not see it or experience
it yourself, does not mean it is not happening.
Women routinely feel unsafe. We live in a culture where women are culturally trained to fear men, being outside, being mobile, being in public and being alone.
Verbal attacks, sexual assault, rape and street harassment are commonplace. Just ask a female friend or family member about getting public transport after dark.
Aside from all these issues, the personal alarm is also problematic because it puts the responsibility of criminal behaviour on the (would-be) victims. Women. As Laura Kipnis points out “I can think of no better way to subjugate women than to convince us that assault is around every corner”.
We place the responsibility of persistent and immediate danger on women, who then restrict their movements, reduce activities and live in a perpetual state of anxiety. That’s control.
Yup, the epitome of a modern, free, independent
woman.
Another issue is that the personal alarm suggests that women are unsafe only when out of the house – like when riding a bike – and that attacks are only perpetrated on the street by strangers. Yes, this happens a lot, but it is not the full picture.
The idea that women are only unsafe in public is a fallacy.
A Personal Safety Survey conducted in 2012 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that most instances of violence against women were perpetrated by someone known to them: around 74% of women who had experienced violence in the last 12 months, and 87% of women who had experienced violence since the age of 15, reported that the perpetrator was someone they know.[8]
Image: Lyndsay Williams. The Toronto Star.
Abuse of female cyclists occurs every day
Women know this abuse happens, but sadly, most men are unaware of the extent and impact gender and sexual harassment have on females and female cyclists.
A few recent news pieces have tried to
highlight the issue:
I am angry that the happiness and warmth that should be the focus for Mother’s Day is undermined by seemingly ‘nice and thoughtful’ gifts which are actually unchecked, unspoken and unseen consequences of the misogynistic control and abuse of women.
Perhaps a more apt sentiment for today is Happy Fearful Mother’s Day Cycling Mums!
I have hope though.
There are many amazing women and men who call out any behaviour that would make a mother, any woman, or any person, feel uncomfortable.
I salute these people.
I hope our cycling community shows it’s strength, voice and action to make sure ALL riders, including women, are made to feel welcomed, safe and respected every time they ride.
Perhaps then, we’ll have no need of panic alarms for female cyclists.
Here’s to hoping.
Have a safe Mother’s Day all.
Resources:
*Bates, L. (2018). Misogynation: The True Scale of Sexism. London, UK: Simon and Schuster.
As
well as wearing my The
Cycle of Objectification outfit all day, I also attended a few afternoon
IWD women artist events at Griffith Uni, Southbank.
I
wanted to attend these events to support the showcase of feminist voices and feminist
work.
I
was especially keen to hear what some Brisbane feminist artists had to say and
see how they were translating their explorations of feminist issues through
their art practice.
Like me, quite a few participants had
made sashes, costumes, or were dressed in IWD colours.
The
first event I went to was at the Grey Street Gallery to hear Brisbane artist Genevieve
Memory speak about her exhibition Semiotics of the Dress. This
exhibition looked at the history and social significance of dresses.
Next
were three other local artists Jodie, Ashley and Renee, who are currently
exhibiting at the Machinery Gallery Windows, also spoke about their work and
ideations.
From
there the crowd moved to the Glass Box space. The Glass Box had a very interesting
curated exhibition showcasing a number of under grad female art students. It
was a very interesting exhibition drawing on a rage of voices, experiences and
issues. As well as music and artists explaining their work, the curators also
explained their process and intentions for the exhibition.
There was also a live gig by Brisbane musician Taana Rose (below), which was a real treat!
Tanaa Rose
There was also a proto-installation by a duo (I am sorry, I didn’t get their names!) who have an upcoming exhibition. They created a sample of their work yet to be installed in the concourse to explain their conceptualisations and what they wanted to achieve. I really liked the outdoor/interactive aspect of this presentation. It great to use the art college public space to share art with passers-by.
I
really enjoyed all the artist talks and have a new appreciation for the amount
of work and thought that these talented artists apply to their practice.
Image: Brisbane Art Guide
I was stoked to see that Louise Mayhew (Griffith Uni) had organised (for the third year) a Wikipedia-edit-a-thon. Wikipedia is one of the largest websites on the internet, with more than 40 million articles in more than 250 different languages, but women make up less than 10% of editors. This means women’s stories aren’t being told. This event is where you can edit Wikipedia to include women of note who do not currently have a presence on Wikipedia, or who are underrated, forgotten or invisible.
What a great idea!
I immediately
started researching a range of female cyclists and bike riders who are yet to be
fully recognised, or who have been forgotten in history who need to be
included.
It
was an action packed day full of creativity, community, and activism.
What a way to celebrate International Women’s Day!
