AWARD YEAR
2015
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Trust, Tolerance & Empathy
KEYWORDS
mobility, elderly care, biking
COUNTRY
Denmark
DESIGNED BY
Ole Kassow
WEBSITE
http://cyclingwithoutage.org/
CYCLING WITHOUT AGE
Cycling Without Age is a movement started in 2012 to help the elderly get back on their bikes.
The movement was started by Ole Kassow, who wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a rickshaw and he started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents. He then got in touch with a civil society consultant, Dorthe Pedersen, at the municipality of Copenhagen, who was intrigued by the idea and together they bought the first 5 rickshaws and launched Cycling Without Age, which has now spread to all corners of Denmark and Norway.
Volunteers sign up for bike rides with the elderly through a simple booking system as often or as rarely as they want to. It’s all driven by the volunteers’ own motivation. More than 600 volunteers now ensure that the elderly get out of their nursing homes, out on the bikes to enjoy the fresh air and the community around them. They give them the right to wind in their hair.