Social Issue Archives - Page 2 of 16

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.

22/04/202124/06/2021

A ‘mind-reading’ e-bike

‘Thought control’ bicycle for spinal injury rehab. Bicycles Create Change.com 16th July, 2019.

Innovative technology is increasingly being applied to bike riding to address some very pressing issues, such as increasing bike participation and rider safety.

Previously I’ve posted on the pioneering work of Griffith researchers working on the world’s first ‘thought-control’ bicycle for spinal injury rehab (see more here). This story details Dr. Dinesh Palipana who is a Griffith University medical graduate. Dinesh became a quadriplegic after a car accident partway through his medical degree. Despite this, Dinesh completed his degree and has since been collaborating with a Griffith research team on the world’s-first integrated neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation recline bike that will enable quadriplegics to use ‘thought control’ to ride a specially adapted bike. This project uses ground-breaking 3D computer-simulated biomechanical model, connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves that then stimulates movement that not only push the pedals for him but also helps revitalise is neuro pathways for eventually recovery.

I recently came across an article written last year by Timna Jacks for the Sydney Morning Herald that looked at a ‘mind-reading- bicycle designed to save lives by improving riders’ safety. I was particularly curious about this article as the researchers were using e-bikes in this case Timna makes links with the unprecedented surge in bike use due to COVID-19 – something we have all noticed. So, if you missed this article, I’ve included it in full below.

A ‘mind-reading’ e-bike. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd April 2021.

The ‘mind-reading’ bicycle that could save lives

Cycling in Melbourne might seem a dangerous game, but what if the bike was so intuitive that it could detect when you were in danger and manoeuvre you to safety?

Researchers at Monash University, IBM Australia and the University of Southampton in the UK have invented an e-bicycle which they claim can “read” people’s minds and detect when a cyclist is in danger.

The electroencephalogram-supported e-bike prototype, built by the researchers over more than a year, scans the electrical activity in the cyclist’s brain to detect the nature of the rider’s field of view.

An EEG electrode cap measuring electrical signals in the cyclist’s occipital lobe, the visual processing area of the brain, feeds into a small computer in their backpack, which converts the signals from brain activity to instructions for the bike’s engine.

If the rider’s peripheral vision is narrow – a neurological response when a cyclist detects a danger ahead such as a car cutting them off or an obstruction to a bike path – the bike’s accelerator halts. The cyclist can still move forward by pushing the pedals, albeit more slowly.

Conversely, if the rider has a wide peripheral vision because there is no threat in sight, the bike accelerates.

Changes in peripheral awareness are often linked to a person’s awareness of their surroundings, and their physical performance and co-ordination.

Researchers at Monash, IBM and University of Southampton Josh Andres said cycling accidents often occurred at intersections where cyclists needed a heightened awareness of their environment.

He wanted to find a technology that gave riders extra time in critical situations, but instead of outsourcing this skill, he wanted to build a technology that helped riders connect more with their bodies.

This e-bike, named Ena, would provide a feedback loop for cyclists, enabling them to improve their peripheral vision.

“This is a problem right now. Many of the technologies we are building are teaching us how to outsource how we feel, whereas we should try to be more in touch with our bodies, more in tune with our bodies,” Mr Andres said.

He has previously built e-bikes that connect the bike’s motor to traffic light signals and instruct the cyclist to speed up or slow down.

Monash University researcher Floyd Mueller said the new bike was aimed at boosting people’s confidence in cycling, allowing them to feel in control.

“We know from good cyclists that they talk about how they become one with the bike … what this technology allows is for the cyclist to be an extension of their body. The bike knows when the cyclist is in danger or having fun without being explicitly told.”

Cycling is having an unprecedented surge in popularity because of the COVID-19 lockdown. A Bicycle Network count of 8800 riders on April 25 showed the number had increased by 270 per cent compared with November last year.

But Uber this week confirmed that its shared e-bike outfit Jump would be taken over by Lime and pulled off Melbourne’s streets, in line with similar moves overseas.

The program launched in early March and paused three weeks later as COVID-19 lockdowns began.

It is understood the decision was made in the face of financial strain wrought by the virus, with the company reportedly expected to lay off more than 100 Australian employees as part of its major global job cuts.

09/04/202111/06/2021

Bikes and Sport-for-development (S4D)

Bikes and Sport-for-development. Bicycles Create Change.com. 9th April 2021.

My PhD looks at how bicycles feature in West African girls’ access to secondary education.

This means I read widely about gender, geography, aid and development, education, mobility and innovative research methods.

I’ve been reviewing what has been done so far to help girls get to and from schools on bikes – and this has to lead me to Sport-for-development literature. Which I love!

The field of sport-for-development (S4D) has received significant attention in the last 10 years, legitimizing it as a recognized and critical new genre of scholarship and praxis. The focus of S4D is to engage disadvantaged people and communities in physical activity projects with an overarching aim of achieving various social, cultural, physical, economic, or health outcomes.

Where at the beginning of the 21st century it was difficult to find projects that use sport or physical activity as a specific vehicle for positive change, the number of S4D initiatives that aim to make a difference has grown substantially. One explanation for this escalation is the strong political support for a movement that combines sports associations, aid agencies, development bodies, sponsoring organisations, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)under a single umbrella.

An example of this is my project, which showcases how for the last decade, the collaboration of NGO Village Bicycle Project (my research partner organization) with Stylish Karim Kamara has helped progress local individuals, schools, community groups and education/health organisations by supplying bicycles and bike riding services.

A lovely moment of (research) providence

Often in research, what is being worked on is removed and abstracted from the goings-on in ‘the real-world’.

But not for me this week! This week I had a lovely moment of research providence!

I am currently reading a book on S4D (see image above) which details programs like Football for Peace in the Middle East, Ganar and Deportes para la Vida in the Caribbean, Soldados Nunca Mais which rehabilitates and retrains Brasilian child soldiers using sport, Pacifica Wokabot Jalens (team-based step challenges) programs and other EduSport initiatives.

And it just so happened that my reading of this book coincided with the UN International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP 2021) which was on the 6th of April.

So this made what I am working on even more real and meaningful.

What is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace?

Here are some great IDSDP resources and information.

Here’s some background from the UN explaining IDSDP 2021.

In recognition of the positive contribution that sport can have on the realization of sustainable development and on the advancement of human rights, 6 April was proclaimed the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 67/296 in 2013.

Theme: International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) 2021

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2021 there is an opportunity to recognize the role that sport plays in communities, in individuals’ lives, in building resilience and in the recovery from the pandemic through online and social media activity in the lead up to and on the Day.

The Department of Global Communications, in collaboration with DESA, WHO and the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development in New York – Qatar and Monaco – have developed social media and online messaging around the theme of recovery from the pandemic, the importance of equity in that recovery, and what is necessary to build back better for a more resilient and equitable world.

Sport can cross boundaries, defy stereotypes, improve our physical and emotional health, and inspire hope across nations, but we will only be able to get back to this, if we recover better and help end the pandemic by helping ensure everyone is protected from COVID-19 Using the hashtags #SportDay and #OnlyTogether, interested UN entities and external organizations will be able to tailor the theme to closely fit their own specific mandates and activities to demonstrate how sport and physical activity can help build back better and stronger as society begins to reopen and recover, once the pandemic ends.

Sporting analogies, such as “achieving success through teamwork,” and “using a level playing field” can also be incorporated to deliver the important equity and resilience messaging, and sports personalities and organizations can help promote. Teamwork is essential to building back better.

So, let’s help end the pandemic by ensuring everyone is protected from COVID-19. Let’s level the playing field and recover better. #OnlyTogether will we play again.

Objectives

The 2021 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace aims to:

– Reaffirm the place of sport in the recovery from the pandemic and beyond
– Foster equity, solidarity, community and team spirit in response to the pandemic
– Encourage healthy habits through physical activity and building emotional wellbeing
– and inspire hope through sporting analogies.

These are the hashtags for the International Day of Sport this year: #SportDay #OnlyTogether

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!

12/02/202105/04/2021

Part 3: Current & beyond. Sri Lanka community police bicycle program

This is the third and final in the series tracing a Sri Lankan community police bike patrol project.

In the first post from Gita Sabharwa (2012) provided some background for this initiative.

Then, Johann Rebert‘s 2017 article, noted that after a few years running, bicycle patrols increased the visibility and accessibility of police for community members.

To round off this series, I had to look a little deeper to see what became of this program.

There was a significant drop-off in publications and media after 2015. But I did find two more current mentions of the Sri Lankan community police bicycle patrol programs. One was a very positive extension (below), the other a mention in passing during a policing reform and ‘next steps’ report.

Part 3: Current & beyond. Sri Lanka community police bike policing program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 12th February 2021. — Image: Sri Lanka Police

Inaugural Ceremony of the Surakimu Lanka – Police Vigilant Committee

On the Sri Lankan Police official website, I found the below 2020 announcement:

Having restructured and renewed the Community Policing Programme in order to cater to the contemporary requirement for a secured country, The Inaugural Ceremony of the Pilot project of Surakimu Lanka – Police Vigilant Committee which will be launched Island wide, was held on December 24, 2019 at Viharamahadevi Park.

Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne – Acting Inspector General of Police, was the Chief guest of the occasion.

77 Community Policing Areas in Colombo North, Colombo South and Colombo Central Police Divisions are divided into 201 sub areas and Police officers are assigned to perform duties in relation to community policing. Bicycles were distributed among 77 Police officers of Community policing. Those Police officers will perform full-time duty within the Community Policing area they are assigned.

So it looks like bicycles do have an ongoing role with the Sri Lankan police!

Supporting Community Policing & Police Reform

The other place I found Sri Lankan community police bicycles mentioned more currently, was in a 2020 Asia Foundation report. It was clear from reading this report, that there was a significant shift in community policing since the initial bicycle project was initiated in 2011.

Since the end of the war in 2009, there continues to be a renewed interest and growing acceptance of the need for a community-oriented style of policing to ensure post-conflict stability and normalisation.

Back in 2011, the main focus was on reducing crime, rebuilding community trust and access to police, and reaching those communities most affected by the conflict.

But now, nine years on, Sri Lankan police are still struggling with building community trust and relationships so have now taken a different approach.

The second mention of police bicycle patrols was in an October 2020 Asia Foundation Supporting Community Policing & Police Reform report. Get the full report by clicking the green button below.

Supporting Community Policing & Police Reform: AF Report – Oct 2020

It looks like the integration of community police bike patrols was part of the 2009-2016 piloting community policy phase of reform (hence little online material about it after 2015), but the report does acknowledge:

Community policing pilots were conducted from 2009 to 2011 in two districts, which demonstrated improvements in public perceptions of security, police performance, and community-police relations. Since 2012, the Foundation has engaged with police stations across the country – directly and through community-based organization (CBO) partners – to implement community policing practices such as community police committees, bicycle patrols, mobile police services and community awareness programs. Particularly remarkable are the community police committees (CPCs) which create a platform for monthly community-police dialogues to take joint actions to solve safety and security concerns in their neighborhoods. The CPCs bring together community leaders, police, and government officials to tackle community concerns before they escalate and to address persistent issues within a community.

Although bicycles are still a part of the Sri Lankan Police (as the ceremony above shows) the current community support and police reform (supported by the British High Commission) is focused on towards:

Institutionalizing community policing within the National Police Academy
Integrating Tamil language training
Expediting community policing practices
Using evidence-based policy and training
Police reform efforts
Strengthening sensitive responses to gender-based violence
Establishing a Children and Women’s Bureau
Strengthening gender equity within the police force

Tracing the evolution of the Sri Lankan community policing bike patrol program has been a interesting activity. It touches on many social, political, geographic, technical and economic issues.

It is heartening to see bicycles being trialed in the national recovery and policing reform process. As well as seeing bikes continuing to be used, such programs also serve as great examples for what might be achieved in the future.

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.