Dreams On Wheels

On 26th March 2009, the Danish Ambassador to Latvia Uffe Wolffhechel and the President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers marked the opening of the exhibition Dreams on Wheels with a bicycle ride through the old quarter of the city of Riga. They were followed by a long procession of cycling citizens and a pack of running photographers.

The exhibition, arranged by the Embassy in close cooperation with the Danish Cultural Institute, is on show at the Riga Museum of Foreign Arts. The museum is located at Riga Castle along with the President’s office. So it was only natural to invite the President to actively participate in the opening, thereby marking the green profile of Latvia.

The bicycle ride ended at Riga Castle where the exhibition was opened at a well-attended reception. In his opening speech, Ambassador Wolffhechel underlined the value of the bicycle as a CO2-neutral means of transport. He was pleased that so many Latvians, including the President, showed such great interest in the exhibition, especially in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference, COP15, which will take place in Copenhagen later this year.

In his address, President Zatlers praised the cyclists of Riga for their contribution to the protection of the environment, but also expressed awareness that a more extensive use of bicycles as a means of transport would require investment in bicycle lanes.

Both the exhibition and the President’s bicycle ride have achieved massive media coverage in both printed and electronic Latvian media.

The exhibition, which has been shown in cities around the globe, illustrates Danish cycling culture and shows how to design infrastructure with a view to promoting cycling. Besides a comprehensive collection of photos and posters, a variety of bicycles are displayed. These range from the ordinary to the more curious kinds.

The exhibition can be seen at Riga Castle, Pils Square 3, in the period from 26th of March to 25th of April 2009, from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Monday closed.

As a follow-up to the exhibition, the Embassy and the Danish Cultural Institute will host a seminar on the 16th of April 2009. The theme of the seminar will be how to facilitate the use of bicycles through Urban Planning.

Press release from Embassy of Denmark, Riga of the 31 March 2009

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