The final event of the Re-Cycling – Bike Reuse and Riding Fairs project took place yesterday, Tuesday, September 17, at Casa Lombardia in Brussels. It was a very positive meeting that allowed all partners to present the activities and excellent results achieved through the project, which aims to promote the use of bicycles among children and young people in a circular economy and sustainability perspective, both environmentally and socially. Many people followed the event online.
During the meeting, Leonardo La Rocca from the Sports and Youth Sector of the Lombardy Region, the project’s lead partner, presented its general features. Maria Chiara Pizzorno, the project manager of Consorzio Ibis, spoke about the fair held last April at the Ticino Park and Lake Maggiore, based at Villa Picchetta in Cameri (Novara, Italy). Vittoria Ruggeri and Fofana Noti, two students from the Majno Institute in Gallarate, shared their experiences within the project through classroom training activities and participation in the April fair. Also present were Nikola and Maksim Neshkoski from the Macedonian partner Eco Logic, Nico Graff from the Mountain Bike Forum Germany, Werner and David Madlencnik from the Austrian association Easydrivers, Pierre Erice Letellier from the French partner L’Heureux Cyclage, and finally Edoardo Bodo of Reuse and Manuel Marsilio of Conebi-Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry.
In all the partner countries (Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Macedonia, in no particular order), training initiatives, workshops, and fairs were held. The goal was not only to encourage the use of bicycles as an ecological means of transportation and a component of a healthy lifestyle but also to impart basic knowledge of bike safety, maintenance, and repair. Good practices for bike reuse were also tested, considering that bikes are often replaced during childhood. The project involved hundreds of children and young people, their families, teachers, and numerous local organizations, associations, and companies with whom the partners collaborated.
