ECF AGM in Vienna 2012

ECF AGM in Vienna 2012
March 29 – April 1 / April 4
Final Program, Jan 23rd 2012
Gateway Vienna
Where the bicycle meets new opportunities and
young perspectives
During the cold war the iron curtain was only 25 kilometers away from the city border and for many
people the world ended there. Eastern Austria was a backwater where not much happened. Now that
the Iron Curtain is history, Vienna is in the center of Europe in a dynamic region with a name of its own
- Centrope. Vienna and Bratislava are the two closest capitals in Europe; the distance between the city
centers is only 55 kilometers.
You can cycle from here to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and (if you are in good shape)
even Slovenia in a day. Not only leisure bikers along the Danube profit from this geographic
advantage, now contacts and exchange between bicycle organizations and city administrations are
expanding in all directions. We want to use the ECF AGM to intensivy and broaden these contacts.
Therefor we are happy to organize two cycle-advocacy events at the same time in Vienna: The ECF
AGM 2012 and the third meeting of Europe’s new exchange project “Volunteers of Cycling
Academy - VOCA”. By this we want to create new opportunities of exchange and inspiration.
“Volunteers of Cycling Academy - VOCA” is a project EU-funded by the Grundtvig Lifelong Learning
Program which aims to improve exchange and knowledge of young cycling advocacy associations all
over Europe, focused on Beginner Cities in Eastern Europe in exchange with more established cities.
12 nations take part in it, initiated by Polands Warsaw these are Prague/CZ, Budapest/HUN, Maribor/
SLO, Bucharest/ROM, Sofia/BUL, Nicosia/CYP, Sevilla/ESP, Lisbon/POR, Dublin/IRL,
Copenhagen/DAN and Vienna/AUT. Young volunteers of these organizations meet in each of these
cities in the period of 18 months to learn from each other and about different ways to improve cycling
as sustainable means of transport even in cities where this seems alien.
The VOCA-meeting in Vienna will be at the same time as the ECF AGM. In some occasions the
programs will overlap so the participants of both can come together and different generations,
cultures, perspectives and maybe new members for ECF can get in touch: Combined workshops,
excursions and leisure time.
Also see: http://www.ecf.com/campaigns/volunteers-of-cycling-academy/
Program - Overview
March 29: Arrival / Board Meeting / Dinner
March 30: AGM / Workshops / Official Dinner
March 31: Excursions & Discussions
OR National Park Bike Trip
April 1:
Bike Festival / Bike Parade
April 2 - 4: Big Bike Tour
The subsidised overnight stay will be three nights from the 29th of March to the 1st of April.
Rental bikes / public bikes for all attendees are includes for these 4 days.
Program - Details
29. March - Thursday – Arrival
Arrival during the day
Afternoon:
15h – 18h:
15h – 18h:
ECF Board meeting (Location: Planungswerkstatt 1st
District, Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz 9, next to City Hall )
OR:
Vienna Sightseeing by Bike: City Center, Schönbrunn
(Extra costs, meeting point will be announced)
19h: Social event in a traditional restaurant in the city center of Vienna.
30. March – Friday - AGM
9 – 12h
AGM Part 1 (Location: 15th Floor Media Tower, 2nd District, Taborstrasse 1-3 )
12 – 13h
Lunch Break
13 – 15h
AGM Workshops, 2 topics to chose
1) Regional Policy: How to successfully lobby your
national authorities to get more EU co-funding for
cycling infrastructure from 2014 – 2020 (Workshop
leader: Adam Bodor)
2) Member development
(Workshop leader: Kevin Mayne)
15 – 15:30h
Coffee Break
15:30 – 18h
AGM Part 2
18h – 19h
Meet VOCA: Casual chat with the young organisations at 12 Table-Stations.
20h
Traditional Dinner, opened by Vice Mayor Maria Vassilakou and Bike-Coordinator
Martin Blum, together with VOCA (Location to be announced)
31. March – Saturday – Bike tours
Attendees are free to choose:
Choice one - “Leisure bike tour”
Time schedule: 10 – 17h.
One day bicycle tour through the national park
Donauauen to “Orth an der Donau”. Distance –
30 km from the city center without height
differences. Lunch in the restaurant on the
river bank of the Danube and walk or boat trip
in the national park. Tour continues to the
nearby Castle in “Orth an der Donau” with a
visitor centre of the national park. Return trip
by bus. (Extra individual costs)
http://www.donauauen.at/
Choice two – “Urban bike tours & discussions”
2 choices á 20 people
Time Schedule: 10 – 15h
1) Technical Tour with ECF members, bicycle lobbies,
VOCA and traffic planners presenting various bicycle
infrastructure in a historical city with limited space. After
Lunch-break: Presentation about planning principles by
Prof. Michael Meschik. Discussion about the technical tour
and the different solutions seen. (Start: Motel One;
Presentation: Planungswerkstatt 1st District, FriedrichSchmidt-Platz 9)
2) Meet young bike subculture: A tour to the hot spots of
bike culture in Vienna, to meet the origins of new energy
for cycling activism, together with VOCA. Tour stations:
WUK, „Fix Dich“ bicycle boutique, “Radlager”, Critical
Mass Meetpoint, BikeKitchen. Lunch, Presentation about “European Bike Counter Culture” and
Discussion in the Bike Kitchen Vienna (Start: Motel One; Discussion: 15th District, Goldschlagstraße 8)
Evening and dinner: on your own disposal
1. April – Sunday – ARGUS Bike Festival
9h / All Day: ARGUS Bike Festival.
According to ECF the annual ARGUS Bike
Festival is the largest one in Europe with over
100.000 visitors. For two days the square in
front of Vienna’s impressive city-hall turns into
a paradise for every-day and leisure bicyclists.
The festival offers a broad spectrum from
many aspects of bicycling: a bicycle fair with
over 100 exhibitors, the dirt-contest where 50
world-class dirt-riders take part, test-courses
for children and E-bikes, information about
every-day and leisure bicycling and a lot more.
For details see http://www.bikefestival.at/
(Visit on your own)
13h: Bicycle Parade
The culmination of the festival is the Bicycle
Parade, starting at 13 o’clock. 2011 in its first
year up to 8.000 cyclists rode around the
„Ring“, the grand parade boulevard of Vienna
where the Austrian Emperor used to show
himself to the people.
We hope for even more participants in year
2012, demonstrating how many people find
bicycling an excellent way of transport and
fun. (Meeting in front of Burgtheater on Ring)
16h: End of official AGM, wave good-bye to Vienna and return back home.
OR prepare for the BIG bicycle tour:
2. – 4. April: 3 day BIG bicycle tour
Start: April 2nd, 9h, Motel One
Three-day guided tour in the vicinity of Vienna.
(Extra individual costs and extra night in Vienna)
Along the Danube:
3 Days Wachau, Winery and Culture
Upstream along the north bank of the Danube to the
medieval city of Dürnstein (http://www.duernstein.at/),
visiting the castle where the English King Richard
Lionheart was held prisoner. Overnight stay in this area,
which is famous as wine growing region. Continue to the
monastery of Melk (http://www.stiftmelk.at) where we
cross the Danube and turn downstream back to
Vienna.Overnight stay somewhere along Traismauer.
Total about 200 km, can be shortened by taking the train
or ship downstreams.
Registration:
Registration & payment until Februaray 28th online at:
http://lobby.ig-fahrrad.org/events/ecf-agm-2012-registration-form/
Contact & questions: registration@ig-fahrrad.org
Acommodation:
Motel One Wien-Westbahnhof
Europaplatz 3, 1150 Wien
http://www.motel-one.com/uk/hotels/vienna.html
Brand new quality hotel right next to Vienna’s main train station Westbahnhof.
Bed in double room included in the AGM-fee; single room possible for additional extra costs.
For all costs see registration form online.
Support:
Thanks to our supporters from Stadt Wien / MA18 ; Gewista / Citybike Vienna; Elite Tours!
Enjoy your days in Vienna!
IG Fahrrad & ARGUS
Foto-Credits: Gewista; Stadt Wien, IGF; BK; Web