As hosts of the upcoming ECF Annual General Meeting from April 25 – 27, we take a look this month at the work of Cyclist.ie, Ireland’s national cycling lobby group.

The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network - Cyclist.ie, with its local partner Dublin Cycling Campaign, are hosting this year’s ECF AGM in Dublin. Like many organisations at the moment, they are quite focused on the upcoming European elections, with political lobbying ahead of the Local and European elections to raise awareness of the benefits of cycling. A detailed questionnaire survey was developed and shared with ECF, all European and local candidates are being approached.

Cyclist.ie wants to highlight to politicians that more focus on cycling promotion is needed in order to improve the health of the Irish population. They have the aim to get children back to cycling to school and for this to happen they foresee the need for a paradigm-shift in how they manage traffic in urban and rural areas. The acceptance of 30 km/h speed limit zones in urban areas, particularly around schools, has to be both accepted and implemented with urgency. Ireland has a commitment to reduce its transport carbon emissions, cycling also helps to do this.

 A warm Irish welcome to this year's ECF Annual General Meeting

 As for the upcoming ECF AGM, there is excitement in the air. “Hosting the ECF AGM is a real honour for us,” says Colm Ryderm, Secretary of the Dublin Cycling Campaign and member of cyclist.ie national executive in Ireland. “We are delighted to welcome all the delegates in Dublin. The final preparations are being put in place to give delegates a warm Irish welcome. We’re very excited.”

Gemma Woods, Patricia Gardiner and ECF Board member Barry Flood are especially looking forward to bringing participants on guided cycle tours in Sligo, in the West of Ireland, which includes part of the Euro Velo Route 1. “It’s also our hope to leverage further cycling tourism in Ireland. Part of us hosting this AGM is an opportunity to highlight that Ireland is open for cycling and everybody is welcome.”

It’s a unique opportunity for Irish cycling advocates to meet and mix with colleagues from around Europe face to face in their own capital city – a real exchange of best practice and making new connections. Naturally, Cyclist.ie also wants to explore the potential in EU funding that there might be for cycling projects in Ireland. The opportunity to host the ECF AGM will be a real boost for cycling in Ireland, and Cyclist.ie aims to increase membership and influence as a result of this added publicity. For participants, there are a number of activities organized. One, hosted by the Department of Transport, is a special seminar for Irish Local Government personnel involved in sustainable transport. The seminar will focus on funding and justifying cycling projects. Speakers from ECF will also be speaking about possible EU funding available – a golden opportunity for the Irish audience, as well as an opportunity to profile the work of ECF and introduce the ECF to Irish Authorities.

Ireland also has the Giro d’Italia coming in May, so between that and the ECF AGM, it’s a huge media opportunity to highlight issues around cycling in Ireland!

As part of hosting the AGM, the Dublin Cycling Campaign (member of Cyclist.ie), in partnership with Dublin City Council, has launched a series of five-minute videos promoting cycling. The videos aim to highlight the economic, health and environmental benefits of making cycling part of your daily life. You can see an example of a video here.

If any ECF members haven’t yet signed up for the AGM in Dublin, but wish to attend, there’s still time. You can register here.

See you in Dublin!