You must have noticed as well: cycling has become much more popular since the start of the Covid crisis. More people leave their homes to go out for a ride on their bicycles, especially during weekends. This is not just a trend in Jakarta but in many cities in Indonesia. We have also noted more and more bicycling lanes in town, which is important if we want cycling to become more popular not just as a way to exercise but as a safe and sustainable mode of transport.
Representing an important and – dare I say – the cycling nation of the world, the Dutch embassy very much welcomes this development and would like to support it.
We are at the initial stage of developing what we call our new ‘cycling diplomacy’. We have been sharing light hearted messages through our social media on the many advantages of cycling (health, environment, climate, traffic congestion) and how cycling is part of the Dutch DNA; we are in the process of identifying local (civil society and government) partners with whom we collaborate, and try to figure out what relevant policies are. We also have reached out to organizations in the Netherlands that can be of help, like the Dutch Cycling Embassy and have contacted our embassy in Manila, the Philippines, where Dutch cycling diplomacy has already made a concrete impact.
We hope that these first steps will enable us to organize an event on 3 June, World Bicycle Day. If you have ideas or want to contribute in another manner to promoting cycling as a sustainable mode of transport in Indonesia, let us know!
Representing an important and – dare I say – the cycling nation of the world, the Dutch embassy very much welcomes this development and would like to support it.
We are at the initial stage of developing what we call our new ‘cycling diplomacy’. We have been sharing light hearted messages through our social media on the many advantages of cycling (health, environment, climate, traffic congestion) and how cycling is part of the Dutch DNA; we are in the process of identifying local (civil society and government) partners with whom we collaborate, and try to figure out what relevant policies are. We also have reached out to organizations in the Netherlands that can be of help, like the Dutch Cycling Embassy and have contacted our embassy in Manila, the Philippines, where Dutch cycling diplomacy has already made a concrete impact.
We hope that these first steps will enable us to organize an event on 3 June, World Bicycle Day. If you have ideas or want to contribute in another manner to promoting cycling as a sustainable mode of transport in Indonesia, let us know!
Ardi Stoios-Braken,
Deputy Head of Mission
