A biking revolution is on the way in Tunisia!
The bicycle as an ecological and practical means of transport is starting to gain ground in several cities around the world of the likes of New York, Bogota, Seville or Wuhan. The integration and taking into account of this practice in regional development plans is, likewise, becoming a major urban necessity.
Transposing this practice to the Tunisian context is subject to debate, and for this purpose the Local Democracy Agency of Tunisia, in partnership with the association Vélorution, organized a seminar on this matter as part of the annual programming of Ramadan evenings that the LDA organizes.
Several representatives of civil society took part in the event, together with citizens, experts and locally elected representatives. The purpose of the meeting was to encourage citizens and young people especially to make cycling a fully-fledged practice, that they could adopt and integrate into their activities on a daily basis.
The various speakers promoted the idea of the bike as a means of transport that is conducive to soft mobility, which could generate both economic and environmental benefits – hence the need to advocate its cause with local authorities is a key point in order to organize the practice of cycling and protect bikers, especially in the city de Kairouan which recently inaugurated its very first cycling lane of 200m long.
The current situation of confinement could, besides, be the catalyst for a rapid development of the adoption of the bicycle, given the health risk posed by public transport.
Other initiatives to democratize the bicycle are also already flourishing in Tunisia, amongst which the AUTREMENT project, whose official launch is planned for the month of June with the supervision of a consortium composed of the city of Strasbourg, the Municipalities of Kairouan and Mahdia, and the Associations ALDA, CODATU, CEREMA, LDA Tunisia and Vélorution.
The project is part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, promoting sustainable communities and cities; it includes 7 micro-projects in Kairouan and 3 in Mahdia based on a participatory approach and on citizen consultation; and allows for the importation of the successful experience of Strasbourg to the local Tunisian context.
The bicycle as an ecological and practical means of transport is starting to gain ground in several cities around the world of the likes of New York, Bogota, Seville or Wuhan. The integration and taking into account of this practice in regional development plans is, likewise, becoming a major urban necessity.
Transposing this practice to the Tunisian context is subject to debate, and for this purpose the Local Democracy Agency of Tunisia, in partnership with the association Vélorution, organized a seminar on this matter as part of the annual programming of Ramadan evenings that the LDA organizes.
Several representatives of civil society took part in the event, together with citizens, experts and locally elected representatives. The purpose of the meeting was to encourage citizens and young people especially to make cycling a fully-fledged practice, that they could adopt and integrate into their activities on a daily basis.
The various speakers promoted the idea of the bike as a means of transport that is conducive to soft mobility, which could generate both economic and environmental benefits – hence the need to advocate its cause with local authorities is a key point in order to organize the practice of cycling and protect bikers, especially in the city de Kairouan which recently inaugurated its very first cycling lane of 200m long.
The current situation of confinement could, besides, be the catalyst for a rapid development of the adoption of the bicycle, given the health risk posed by public transport.
Other initiatives to democratize the bicycle are also already flourishing in Tunisia, amongst which the AUTREMENT project, whose official launch is planned for the month of June with the supervision of a consortium composed of the city of Strasbourg, the Municipalities of Kairouan and Mahdia, and the Associations ALDA, CODATU, CEREMA, LDA Tunisia and Vélorution.
The project is part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, promoting sustainable communities and cities; it includes 7 micro-projects in Kairouan and 3 in Mahdia based on a participatory approach and on citizen consultation; and allows for the importation of the successful experience of Strasbourg to the local Tunisian context.
Citizen mobilization to manage the pandemic in the Mediterranean region
Like the rest of the world, Morocco is going through an unprecedented health crisis, with repercussions on all sectors of life, including the associative sector. The effects of this crisis are more profound for vulnerable groups, for whom inequalities and disparities are even more acute.
Today, civil society must indeed mobilize more than ever to reflect on local solutions and act to take part in building an egalitarian, inclusive and sustainable society. Although the confinement imposed is a constraint to action on the ground, there are alternatives to connect with the citizens of the world and conduct collective actions that are useful for the society.
With this in mind, LDA Northern Morocco organised an online debate on April 2nd on the role of citizen participation during the health crisis: if on one hand the current economic situation limits the social mobilisation of associations in the field, on the other hand it allows us to come up with new forms of civic and citizen participation.
The event was attended by partners of the EGAL project (Gender Equality in Local Action), while a second debate was organized on April 14th with ALDA’s involvement on the central topic of Citizen participation during the Covid-19 crisis and how we can organize our future together.
LDA NM also conducted a survey on the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on youth organisations around the world and on their initiatives to mitigate the impact of the crisis. Following the dissemination of the survey’s results, the LDA then represented Morocco during a regional conference on the Youth and COVID-19: Response, Resilience and Recovery held on May 7th .
Throughout the period of confinement, more generally, LDA NM held online debates to encourage the expression of young people by giving them a voice to share their insights on the effects of this crisis. This weekly bilingual Talk “Young people and smart confinement” led to the creation of a bond of solidarity, relief from the isolation and growth of young people’s interest in debate and reflection on economic issues.
On May 27th, moreover, ALDA and LDA NM co-hosted a collective brainstorming workshop with a preparatory stage for the Young Voices in the Mediterranean forum, which will be held on June 8th.
In this occasion, young people were able to co-design a shared vision of what gender is, understand its major obstacles, issues and challenges to the progress of the companies in the Mediterranean region. At the end of this session, they were invited to write 15 recommendations for an egalitarian, innovative and inclusive Euro-Mediterranean area!
Like the rest of the world, Morocco is going through an unprecedented health crisis, with repercussions on all sectors of life, including the associative sector. The effects of this crisis are more profound for vulnerable groups, for whom inequalities and disparities are even more acute.
Today, civil society must indeed mobilize more than ever to reflect on local solutions and act to take part in building an egalitarian, inclusive and sustainable society. Although the confinement imposed is a constraint to action on the ground, there are alternatives to connect with the citizens of the world and conduct collective actions that are useful for the society.
With this in mind, LDA Northern Morocco organised an online debate on April 2nd on the role of citizen participation during the health crisis: if on one hand the current economic situation limits the social mobilisation of associations in the field, on the other hand it allows us to come up with new forms of civic and citizen participation.
The event was attended by partners of the EGAL project (Gender Equality in Local Action), while a second debate was organized on April 14th with ALDA’s involvement on the central topic of Citizen participation during the Covid-19 crisis and how we can organize our future together.
LDA NM also conducted a survey on the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on youth organisations around the world and on their initiatives to mitigate the impact of the crisis. Following the dissemination of the survey’s results, the LDA then represented Morocco during a regional conference on the Youth and COVID-19: Response, Resilience and Recovery held on May 7th .
Throughout the period of confinement, more generally, LDA NM held online debates to encourage the expression of young people by giving them a voice to share their insights on the effects of this crisis. This weekly bilingual Talk “Young people and smart confinement” led to the creation of a bond of solidarity, relief from the isolation and growth of young people’s interest in debate and reflection on economic issues.
On May 27th, moreover, ALDA and LDA NM co-hosted a collective brainstorming workshop with a preparatory stage for the Young Voices in the Mediterranean forum, which will be held on June 8th.
In this occasion, young people were able to co-design a shared vision of what gender is, understand its major obstacles, issues and challenges to the progress of the companies in the Mediterranean region. At the end of this session, they were invited to write 15 recommendations for an egalitarian, innovative and inclusive Euro-Mediterranean area!
Contribute to inclusive tourism with the GATE Community of Interest!
ALDA is happy to share with all interested stakeholders the opportunity to take part in the Community of Interest of GATE, a European-funded project (ERDF and Interreg Italy-Austria) aiming at collaborating on a cross-border level to make sure that inclusive tourism is no longer just the “highlight” of certain alpine and pre-alpine areas, but expands all over, becoming a true strength.
Please find HERE the full description of the opportunities that joining the Community of Interest would give to your organisation, municipality, or personal enterprise. Among them, we point out the possibility to attend or organise a workshop on the topics of the project, and to access the Inclusive Tourism Help Desk that will be developed by the project’s consortium.
If interested, you are invited to fill in and sign the Memorandum of Understanding and send it to irene@aldaintranet.org, CoI Coordinator of the GATE project.
Feel free to spread the word! Your support in the development of the GATE project is essential to create an environment conducive to accessible tourism for everyone.
ALDA is happy to share with all interested stakeholders the opportunity to take part in the Community of Interest of GATE, a European-funded project (ERDF and Interreg Italy-Austria) aiming at collaborating on a cross-border level to make sure that inclusive tourism is no longer just the “highlight” of certain alpine and pre-alpine areas, but expands all over, becoming a true strength.
Please find HERE the full description of the opportunities that joining the Community of Interest would give to your organisation, municipality, or personal enterprise. Among them, we point out the possibility to attend or organise a workshop on the topics of the project, and to access the Inclusive Tourism Help Desk that will be developed by the project’s consortium.
If interested, you are invited to fill in and sign the Memorandum of Understanding and send it to irene@aldaintranet.org, CoI Coordinator of the GATE project.
Feel free to spread the word! Your support in the development of the GATE project is essential to create an environment conducive to accessible tourism for everyone.