California Bike Summit 2022 Public Statement of Equity and Inclusion
The California Bike Summit 2022 is centered on the social movement for more equitable, inclusive, and prosperous communities where bicycling enables people to live more joyful and healthy lives. We organize this Summit every other year to support that movement by providing a place to share our ambitions and hopes, criticisms and concerns, and ideas and passions.
This year, Summit leaders have chosen the theme Connecting. We are connecting with each other, and we are connecting this cause of bicycling to the many and diverse issues and causes we are all variously passionate about.
Connections bring us together across barriers. Today, it’s more important than ever to emphasize the connections as we work to overcome the divisions of inequality that are worsening, and threatening the safety and security of Black and brown people, the queer community, women, and other marginalized communities.
Connections take us across town. A protected bike lane is one thing, but without connections to the destinations we seek, it’s just a bike lane. We need the connections, and we hope this event advances the cause of connected safe streets.
We share the belief that bicycling is a powerful and versatile vehicle in building a better world, but only if we understand how bicycling connects us to the world and its pressing issues. This summit hosts discussions on racism, community policing, gender discrimination, housing policy, environment, taxation, internationalism, privacy, and equity.
Connections can complete a circuit and deliver power. We hope the connections you make here will strengthen our movement. We are only as strong as we are connected.
It can be challenging to make connections. It helps when the environment is safe. We have attempted to create an inclusive, supportive, and accessible space for explicitly addressing questions of inequality, representation, inclusion, and co-powerment in the interest of achieving a more just, humane, and sustainable society.
We want every participant to belong and feel welcome, included, and safe at the conference. Moreover, we will do our best to accommodate specific needs such as accessibility, or dietary requirements. We cannot promise to solve every issue but will try our best.
Please demonstrate your commitment to that approach by reading our Guide to an Inclusive and Equitable Summit.
We look forward to an excellent summit!