Asia Archives

06/04/202313/08/2023

Singapore: Cycling for a new future

Singapore is currently touted as one of Asia’s best cities to ride a bike.

And I can understand why.

From its futuristic skyline, exciting tourist attractions and tranquil parklands, this vibrant metropolis is raising the bar when it comes to being a bike-friendly destination.

My brother lives in Singapore and I often keep an eye on what is happening there. I have been watching with interest as Singapore’s works to implement its intelligent transportation vision – of which cycling is a major focus.

Like most capital cities, Singapore boasts an extensive network of dedicated cycling paths, lanes, and connectors that cover both urban areas and scenic routes. This infrastructure ensures cyclists can travel safely and conveniently throughout the city.

The city’s urban planning emphasizes sustainable transportation options, including cycling. Well-designed bike lanes are integrated into the city’s infrastructure, making it easy to navigate and explore different neighborhoods by bike. Some local favourite routes include the Park Connector network, a 300km tangle of cycle paths, and the Rail Corridor, a 24km bicycle path in the footprint of an old railway, and the Eastern Coastal Loop.

Singapore’s Eastern Coast Loop. Image: Get Go

Also, Singapore’s well-maintained roads and bike paths are designed with safety in mind. They have separated bike lanes and clear signage to reduce the risk of accidents between cyclists and other road users and as anyone who has been there will know, Singapore is active in enforcing speed limits, and positive social behaviour.

Singapore has introduced various bike-sharing programs, providing locals and tourists with easy access to rental bikes for short trips around the city. Despite having some issues in the past, these programs are promoting cycling as a viable mode of transportation and usage is projected to boom.

Singapore’s relatively compact size allows cyclists to cover significant distances within a short period. This compactness makes it convenient to use a bike for daily commutes and recreational rides. The other drawcard is that cyclists can enjoy a mix of scenic routes including urban landscapes, waterfront paths, and lush green spaces. This makes cycling both enjoyable and is a great way to see more of the city beyond just the main tourist attractions – which are all easily accessible by bike!

Image: Singapore Land Transport Authority

The Singaporean government has actively promoted cycling as a sustainable transportation option. Initiatives such as car free Sundays, car free zones, the Car-Lite movement and investments in cycling infrastructure demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the cycling experience.

The city hosts various big-ticket sports events like the Formula 1 Grand Prix and it is not often you get a chance to ride along a legitimate F1 circuit pit lane! They also have a full cycling calendar offering events from leisurely rides to competitive races. These events foster a strong cycling community and encourage people to embrace biking as a lifestyle.

But still some issues to iron out…

Last year Singapore conducted a cycling review and as part of a discussion on safe cycling on roads, there was a proposal to register bikes and licenses for cyclists. This idea was met with intense public resistance – so it will be interesting to see what happens there.

There are also other issues need to be addressed, such as vehicle-cyclist conflicts, too many heavy vehicles and food deliveries hogging the road, and an over-focus on policing cyclists and issuing them with tickets and infringement notices.

A Today Online news report cites a lack of etiquette, disregard for the laws and ‘a need to exhibit showmanship’ as a few of the main reasons for accidents.

So, there are definitely a few more things to iron out!

But overall, it is great to see Singapore heading in the right direction.

Change is not easy.

But it is encouraging to see the Lion City taking action to be a more cycle-friendly city in the future.

26/02/202326/07/2023

Artist Hilary Warren: Everyday bikes in Hoi An, Vietnam

This blog is dedicated to celebrating bicycles in their many forms.

Art is a fundamental aspect of this passion, and I have shared numerous posts featuring artists who incorporate bikes in their work, such as:

As someone who delights in discovering artists who use bikes in their creations, I was delighted to stumble upon an Australian artist named Hilary Warren.

Artwork by Hilary Warren ‘Hoi An Entrance’

I found Hilary’s work on the website Blue Thumb: Home of Australian Artists and it immediately caught my eye for a number of reasons.

First, she’s an Australian female artist who, despite winning many awards, is not as well known her male counterparts. But that’s not what drew me to her work – it was the fact that two out of her five prints on the site featured a bicycle!

I also appreciate that Hilary is an older artist who only has two followers and few views of her work on this platform. As someone who values supporting and increasing the visibility of lesser known or underestimated individuals, I was more interested in Hilary’s work than the others listed.

I was also interested to Hilary uses work uses etching, which is not a common art medium – and certainly not one I have seen used in bike art very often at all.

I was also intrigued by Hilary’s artwork because it brought back memories of my time in Hoi An. I had the pleasure of cycling around the city and taking in the local atmosphere, and her prints captured that feeling so well. It was a delightful reminder of the happy days I spent exploring the city on two wheels and seeing exactly the kind of houses her work depicts.

Hilary’s choice to depict bicycles in the everyday life of Hoi An is significant because it serves as a reminder that bikes are utilized by diverse communities all over the world. It challenges the normative images and pervasive media representations that often only showcase white men as cyclists. By highlighting how people from all walks of life use bicycles in their daily routines, Hilary’s prints offer a much-needed reset from the limited and exclusionary messaging we often receive about cycling. It is refreshing to see such a representation showcasing a broader range of bike riding lifestyles, contexts and experiences.

In this collection, Hilary depicts everyday life in Hoi An, Vietnam, where bicycles are a staple of daily life. The way she captures the spirit of the city and how casually the bicycles wait outside people’s front doors at the ever-ready – is simple and meaningful.

It’s a testament to the way that bicycles are woven into the fabric of a community, becoming a vital part of the culture and identity of a place.

I like that her prints are understated and simple.

The sepia wash accentuates the nostalgic feeling of bygone years ..a time when every house had a bike ……. (*sigh*)…………..

Hilary Warren the artist

Hilary Warren is a Canberra-based printmaker who began her art career after working in science. She obtained a PhD in Plant Biochemistry in 1970 and worked in Immunology until her retirement in 2014. She then turned her skills to printmaking, focusing on the Photopolymer Photogravure technique, in which she adapts her own photographs to create etched photopolymer plates. Warren has developed this skill through workshops with well-established Australian printmakers, and her hand-pulled prints are created using oil-based etching inks and Hahnemuhle paper.

Warren’s early work focused on images from her travels in Europe and Asia, but with travel limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she has started a series of botanical etchings using photographs taken in her own garden and at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. In other works, she explores still life, always emphasizing the use of light and shade to create a unique view of something ordinary.

Warren is committed to participating in the Australian and international printmaking community and finds inspiration in print exchanges, exhibitions held in Canberra by the Artists Society of Canberra and the Canberra Art Workshop, and prestigious art prizes, where she has been selected as a finalist in several. She is always eager to learn from others and continues to develop her skills through workshops and collaboration with other artists.

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.

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.

09/11/202015/01/2021

A Japanese Handcrafted Kitsure(goshi) Bicycle

The creator of this bespoke, hand-made bike is Japanese student Enji. Enji is studying at the Tokyo College of Cycle Design ( I know ..right!! A whole school for studying bicycle design!!) and this working bike was his final graduating project.

Enji wanted to restyling the old traditional handicraft of Kitsuregoshi (lattice work) into the bike build.

The handcrafted bicycle has been carefully thought-out from concept to finish, with the saddle, handlebars, tires and frame all designed to complement the star of the creation that sits in the middle of the piece: the lattice panel.

Lattice work like this is known as kitsuregoshi in Japan. This centuries-old woodworking craft can be seen in sliding door panels in traditional Japanese rooms, and on walls beneath the roofs of shrine buildings.

Enji has taken inspiration from the word kitsuregoshi, naming his bicycle Kitsure, the “Traditional Japan Bicycle.”

The lattice panel can be popped out like a shoji sliding door, so it’s possible for a different design to be mounted in its place in future.

And it’s not just the lattice section that’s impressive, as the entire frame of the bicycle was also made from scratch and melded together to make his vision a reality.

When Enji shared his bike on via Twitter @enjiblossomlily, it went viral with over 13,000 retweets and more than 73,000 likes in just one day.

Enji’s bicycle was part of his graduating cohort display at Tokyo College of Cycle Design. This college is a vocational school located in the Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward where students study the design, maintenance and building of bicycles.

With Japan recently championing innovative designs like the Walking Bicycle Club, we can only hope to see more bikes like Enji’s Kiture make their way onto streets of Tokyo and beyond.

Content sourced from Sora News 24 and Japan Today.

11/10/202028/11/2020

ECO-Cycle: Automated bike parking in Japan

A long time ago I read an article on Design Boom by Juliana Neira detailing an incredible underground automated bicycle parking system in Japan. The first installation was in 2013 and since then, many of these systems have installed around Japan. The ECO cycle system is a remarkable technological design and as our cities become more and more crowded, solutions such as these that are not common in Western countries (but are elsewhere) might offer some ideas for how innovative technological designs could help address issues of urbanization and contested spaces. Enjoy. NG.

Watch the video above for a great demo of how ECO cycle works.

Created by Giken, ECO Cycle was launched in 2013. It is as an automated mechanical underground parking lot for bicycles and today there are over 50 parking stations in Japan (with plans for global expansion on the way).

ECO Cycle is an automated bicycle parking facility developed with the concept of ”Culture Aboveground, Function Underground”. With a compact entrance booth, it requires minimal space above ground and provides more than 200 parking spaces underground.

The entry to ECO Cycle is compact and unobtrusive. It has a unique press-in technology, making it a powerful option in urban districts where it is difficult to acquire land. The entrance/exit booths are above ground (at street level), while the rest of the ECO cycle structure is underground and it is completely computer-controlled automated. Surveillance sensors make sure the bikes are safe, eliminating theft through the use of a personal tag or card, making it easy for anyone to use.

ECO-Cycle Development Download

Average storage and retrieval time is 13 seconds. (I know right….WHATTTTT!!!??) . To dock your bike, you push the bicycle forward to the front of the entrance door. The front wheel shutter opens, activated by the IC tag attached to the bike. When ready, you push your bike forward and insert the front wheel into the slot. After it has been inserted, it is clamped and fixed. You then step off the sensor map and press the ‘drop-off start’ button and the rest of the operation is completed by the machines which take your bike underground to storage.

You retrieve your bike by using your storage card and your bike is automatically retrieved for you. Amazing!!!

Gilken also says that ECO Cycle is earthquake resistant – a big plus in places like Japan where earthquakes are an ongoing issue.

ECO-Cycle: Automated bike parking in Japan. Bicycles Create Change.com 11th October 2020. — Image: Design Boom

I can see there are many benefits of ECO cycle not least of all because it saves (above ground) public space and offers great protection for bikes from theft, weather and damage.

From a sustainability perspective, I am concerned about the amount and source of power needed to operate the whole venture – it seems ironic to ride a bike to support the environment, only to have your storage methods produce a bigger carbon footprint than you just saved by riding.

As we move towards a more contested and complex future where riding bikes is going to play a critical role, it will be imperative to be open to experimenting with new designs that encourage biking, active transport and more sustainable practices. In highly populated cities (like in Japan) have accessible, cheap and reliable bike parking is a great way to encourage more people to cycle.

Although not 100% perfect, the ECO cycle provides an innovative example for considering new ways in which technology, space, people and bicycles might be better accounted for in large cities.

ECO-Cycle: Automated bike parking in Japan. Bicycles Create Change.com 11th October 2020.Iamge: — Image: Gilken

Some content for this post was sources from Design Boom.

17/09/202021/11/2020

Korean teacher uses bike to teach classes for students missing out on online COVID lessons

Teachers who use bikes to make education and learning more equitable is always inspiring. Previously, I posted on Afghani teacher Saber Hosseini who rides his bicycle laden with books out to rural villages in the mountains so locals there who have no access to books can learn to read and have an opportunity to read. The story is about Korean teacher Rudra Rana who rides his bike out to teach kids who do not have access to online classes during COVID lockdown. Although the bike in this story is motorized, given the rough terrain, I’m counting Rudra’s story as an opportunity for all riders and bike types (motorized and pedal) to be better utilized in educational access. This story comes via Asian News International (posted by Amrita Kohli). Enjoy! NG.

Rudra Rana is a government school teacher in Chhattisgarh’s Korea district. He travels on his bike with a blackboard strapped to his back to educate children in ‘mohalla’ classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While speaking to ANI, Rana said that since many students did not have access to online education and all schools remained closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, he thought of educating them by bringing ‘school at their doorstep’.

“Very few students were able to join the online classes, so we started mohalla classes. So I thought of this method. This also ensures the safety of both teachers and students as there is no contact. As students can’t go to schools, I’m bringing education to their doorstep,” said Rana.

“I have also kept a blackboard, books and placards with me. I ring the bell and then students come, just like normal school routine, then students perform their prayers and we start with the classes as per syllabus,” he added.

Rana further said, “I travel from one region to another, gather students and educate them about coronavirus and their subjects. Even students are coming forward and showing interest while the locals are appreciating the initiative.”

“The umbrella on my bike represents a new way of educating students. It also protects me from heat and rain,” he added.

Speaking about the importance of these classes during the pandemic, Shilp, a student said: “We get to learn a lot from these classes. Sir comes here daily and teach us and also answer our doubts. We are enjoying this method of teaching.”

“Sir teaches us different concepts and later we study them on our own. We miss school but this concept is also nice as it feels just like we’re at school,” said Suraj, another student.

Earlier, a government school teacher Ashok Lodhi pleased many with his efforts of educating students by travelling on his bike with an LED TV to educate children via cartoons and music. He had also garnered heaps of praises for his unique initiative and was nicknamed ‘Cinema Wale Babu’ by the local residents of the Korea district.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Chhattisgarh government had earlier launched an online portal, ‘Padhai Tuhar Duar’, that provided education to students stuck at their homes amid the lockdown.

The state government took the scheme further in August and introduced ‘Padhai Tuhar Para’, which aims to teach children with the help of community in their localities and villages.

17/08/202022/10/2020

Dissident Bicycles (Part 3): Oz Asia Festival ‘Shedding Light’

In this post, we continue our August 5-part series written by Laura Fisher exploring how bicycles are used as a dissident object in contemporary art. The first post looked at Ai Weiwei’s most iconic bicycle-based artworks ‘Forever’ and the second detailed the ‘reversed engineered’ bike project ‘Returnity’ by German art duo Elin Wikström and Anna Brag. Here we look at the incredible collaborative illuminated bike-light-culture- performance ‘Shedding Light’ from Tutti Arts Oz Asia Festival 2015. Enjoy! NG.

Dissident Bicycles (Part 3): 'Shedding Light' Oz Asia Festival. Bicycles Create Change.com 17th August 2020.

Shedding Light – Tutti Arts & Oz Asia Festival (2015)

We left off the previous post on the ‘reversed engineered’ bike project ‘Returnity’ by German art duo Elin Wikström and Anna Brag, with the idea that experimentation can be used to engage cory and mind in such a way as to galvanise both personal autonomy and social affinity.

This was further demonstrated by the Shedding Light project that featured in the 2015 OzAsia Festival in Adelaide.

Shedding Light was a two-year collaboration between Tutti Arts, a multi-arts organisation for artists with a disability in Adelaide, and Perspectif, a sister organisation in Yogyakarta 2013.

Among the many mediums through which the artists explored the Indonesia–Australia relationship were creatively constructed carts inspired by the Indonesian kaki lima (street vendor carts), and vehicles inspired by Sepeda Lampus, the four-wheeled pedal cars augmented with neon lights and sound systems hired out at the Sultan’s Palace square in Yogyakarta.

This part of Shedding Light was realised in collaboration with James Dodd, an artist who has long engaged in bicycle modification as part of a practice concerned with informal and incidental forms of public creativity.

Dodd fabricated the pedal cars using two bicycles so that they could accommodate a Tutti artist, a support companion and a passenger.

The neon light frames were modelled upon designs created by three Tutti artists: a unicorn (William Gregory), a shark (Joel Hartgen) and a three-headed snowman (James Kurtze).

Over several nights, passengers would be taken a short distance around the Adelaide Festival Centre Plaza to a special location where a short performance by another Tutti artist was staged for them.

Like Returnity (see our previous post Part 2) , Shedding Light involved modifying bicycles to facilitate a creative social intervention, in this case tied to the aim of enhancing the visibility of Tutti artists.

As Dodd relates, what made the project so rewarding and unusual was that it created intimate encounters between festival audiences and the Tutti artists out in the streets, far from the organised formality of ticketed events.

Laura Fisher is a post-doctoral research fellow at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney. In October 2015 she co-curated Bespoke City with Sabrina Sokalik at UNSW Art & Design, a one night exhibition featuring over 20 practitioners celebrating the bicycle through interactive installations, sculpture, video, design innovation, fashion and craft. This event was part of Veloscape, an ongoing art–research project exploring the emotional and sensory dimensions of cycling in Sydney.

The contents of this post was written by Laura Fisher and first published online by Artlink (2015). Minor edits and hyperlinks added and footnotes removed to aid short-form continuity. Images from Artlink unless attributed.

25/04/202003/07/2020

To Zen on a bicycle

I came across this Zen proverb while looking for bicycle-related folklore and fairy tales.

A lovely reminder to enjoy being fully in the present moment when riding a bike.

To Zen on a bicycle and back. Bicycles Create Change.com 25th April 2020. — Image: Yakima Herald

A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles.

When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, “Why are you riding your bicycles?”

The first student replied, “The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!” The teacher praised the first student. “You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do.”

The second student replied, “I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!” The teacher commended the second student, “Your eyes are open, and you see the world.”

The third student replied, “When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo.” The teacher gave his praise to the third student, “Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel.”

The fourth student replied, “Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings.” The teacher was pleased and said to the fourth student, “You are riding on the golden path of non-harming.”

The fifth student replied, “I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle.”

The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, “I am your student.”’

Zen proverb