ETRA eesv, Guinardstraat 32, Gent, Belgium
The “Beauty and the Bike” project of 5 Bike It schools in Exeter, South West England will be rewarded with 12.500 Euro for winning the Shimano Cycling Concept Award 2007. The aim of the “Beauty and the Bike” project is to provide a series of prestigious (and fun) events for secondary school girls to help overcome the negative images they have of cycling.
The SCCA is an annual contest, being organized for the seventh consecutive year. This year, more than 100 project proposals were sent in to stimulate bicycle usage especially in the important age group of 5-16 years old.
The jury consists of three editors of cycling trade publications: Jack Oortwijn (Bike Europe), Carlton Reid (Bike Biz) and Michael Bollschweiler (Radmarkt), completed by Harald Troost, PR officer of Shimano Europe BV.
“Beauty and the Bike” sessions will offer participants free health and beauty advice and practical solutions related to looking and feeling good when arriving by bike. In addition, they will incorporate messages on the health and fitness benefits of cycling. The project will also provide facilities and equipment to create dedicated changing and storage areas for use by girls that cycle to school.
“Beauty and the Bike” is one of a range of activities being developed as part of Sustrans’ Bike It project in Exeter, UK. The concept came about as a direct response to the prevailing situation that a far greater proportion of boys cycle to school than girls.
The project was conceived by Emma Osborne, Sustrans’ Bike It Officer for Exeter: “As a young woman who cycles, who promotes cycling to school and who cycled to school myself, I want to target teenage girls to show them not only that cycling is a brilliant way to get around and keep fit but that you can arrive looking and feeling great too! I want to highlight the benefits of cycling in a way that appeals to girls’ interest in health and beauty and to overcome girls’ negative images of cycling… Perhaps more importantly, I want to help raise girls’ self esteem such that they grow to realize it is ok to look “less good” some of the time! 20% of rush hour traffic is created through children being driven to school. A lack of physical activity is also associated with the growing levels of obesity in the U.K. These are important issues that cycling can provide a solution for.”
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