It has been a busy few weeks in Irish Cycling Campaign, particularly the last week when we had the pleasure of hosting our Erasmus friends as part of the Generations Cycling for Inclusion and Climate Action project – and we’ll be posting a story on their experiences here next week.
A few weeks earlier though, Irish Cycling Campaign (ICC) was delighted to be invited to the launch of the Shared Island Youth Forum Outcome Statement in the Printworks Event and Exhibition Centre, Dublin Castle. There were 250 civic representatives from across the island in attendance, and Taoiseach Simon Harris TD delivered the keynote address.
Taoiseach Simon Harris TD delivering the keynote address
The Shared Island Youth Forum comprises 80 young civic leaders from diverse backgrounds born since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The Forum met nine times over the last year to deliberate and agree upon a statement of their vision and values for the future of the island, across themes of Sustainability, Opportunity, Wellbeing, Culture, and Identity and Equality, with Irish Cycling Campaign feeding into the thematic session on Sustainability which was held in the Aviva Stadium in 2023.
Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, ICC’s National Cycling Coordinator, was at the launch flying the sustainable transport flag, along with Andrew McClean from Cycling UK Northern Ireland who had travelled from Belfast for the event. We were also delighted to bump into Caroline Whyte from Feasta and Karin Dubsky from Coastwatch Ireland (both member organisations of the Irish Environmental Network) at the launch.
Andrew McClean (Cycling UK Northern Ireland) and Caroline Whyte (Feasta) at the launch in Dublin Castle
Irish Cycling Campaign and Cycling UK Northern Ireland were particularly focused on the Sustainability strand of the vision, and were impressed to read the following (on page 8) within the Vision of Sustainability:
The island is connected by a fully integrated, localised and sustainable transport network, featuring:
- a strong rail infrastructure, with a rail line to every county;
- more trams, buses and commuter trains, and shared community cars;
- safe walkways and improved cycling infrastructure;
- a network of joined-up cycle paths and greenways that is a transformational amenity for residents and a driver for sustainable tourism.
Further on then under the section on “Inspiring Actions for a Shared Future”, Sustainability, the following is included:
- Scale up investment in local accessible public transport, roads and cycling infrastructure for all; campaign to encourage more sustainable local tourism, through visiting and holidaying across the island (page 16).
It’s reassuring that the Youth Forum included these statements in their vision document. In fact, the values underpinning the report and the statements on sustainable transport above align well with Irish Cycling Campaign’s own values and vision – as can be read in our own statement of values here and in our recent submission on the All Island Strategic Rail Review.
For more on the launch see:
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/16c25-taoiseach-simon-harris-launches-shared-island-youth-forum-statement-of-vision-and-values-for-a-shared-future
The Shared Island Youth Forum Outcome Statement itself can be read here:
https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/305449/1e3e0782-ac7d-4c14-bf31-5bd178b33981.pdf#page=null