NYC’s Youth Bike Summit

Since 2011, Recycle-A-Bicycle has been bringing people together for the New York City (NYC) Youth Bike Summit at The New School. The summit’s goal is to reimagine bicycling interactively as a safe mode of transportation for youth.

For three days adults and youth, mostly high school and college students, attend workshops covering subjects from starting your own business or summit to learning how to make bike jewelry as a tool for fundraising. The keynote speaker at the February 2013 event was the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, Dr. Enrique Peñalosa, who talked about making cities walking and biking friendly. Entertainment included the Youth Bike Summit Procession with Rude Mechanical Orchestra, group meals, crafts, and a showcase of The New School’s urbanBIKE initiative project. “It’s all a huge success story,” said Helen Ho, co-founder of NYC’s Youth Bike Summit.

Around 300 bike enthusiasts from around the country gathered at the summit to “share in a conversation about what’s important to [them] in terms of riding bikes, and participating in [their] communities,” explained Recycle-ABicycle executive director, Pasqualina Azzarello.

From February 14-16, 2014, the Youth Bike Summit will return to The New School with a new schedule of events. “Bring your sweetheart and save the date,” urged Ho, “it’s going to be another exciting event.”

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