In Ireland, fewer than one in 250 girls cycle to school each day.
In 2019 Green-Schools worked with teenage girls to develop the #andshecycles campaign to shine a light on the barriers currently reducing the rate of girls choosing to cycle. Following the #andshecycles launch event in Dublin in September, the next phase of the campaign will take to the road with roadshow-style, regional events around the country. The #andshecycles Roadshow will be held in various towns and cities across Ireland between February and May 2020.
On Thursday February 6, Green-Schools will launch it's first #andshecycles Roadshow in Castlebar, Co. Mayo in the Leisure Complex, Lough Lannagh at 6.30pm. Following the photography exhibition and a screening of the campaign video, Angelina Nugent will lead the panel discussion and Q&A as MC, along with panellists, Green-Schools Travel Officer Mayo, Lukasz Krzywon, GAA star Katheryn Sullivan, cyclist Saoirse O'Reilly and two Mayo secondary school students.
The Mayo #andshecycles Roadshow event has been supported with the help of Mayo County Council and Mayo Sports Partnership and to celebrate the campaign Roadshow launch, Mayo Sports Partnership will be offering free 'Bike for Life' training with a local Mayo female trainer for any girls who would like to gain more confidence cycling.
The greatest success from the initial campaign launch was that it stirred up many necessary conversations around the social barriers which girls face in relation to cycling.
The Roadshow campaign will focus on encouraging young women – particularly teenagers – to cycle while analysing and discussing the reasons why they feel that cycling is not for them.
