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B!B!E! Planning Meeting 2024.02.06
attendees
alejandro, angé, angel, angie, april, nat, rachel
Discussion around what B!B!E! 2024 will look like
Alejandro remarked on the soul of B!B! and the importance of in-person events for building and strengthening bike communities. The longer an in-person event takes place the harder it will be to bring people back to participate/organize. From past experience in FMB, Alejandro shared that holding in person events of 700 + attendees demands strong event organizational skills. It's important to do it sustainably and mindfully to keep the movement and energy alive, like taking care of a plant. Previous FMB events have been beset by issues such as burnout, turnover, and loss of institutional memory between planned events.
As Foro Mundial wants to expand beyond Latin America, and B!B! expanded south in 2015 and 2019, it seems that a connection to be made between the bike movements.
Alejandro and angé concurred that an online event is valuable for connecting people further away.
Angie notes Bike!Bike!'s role is to strengthen connections between organizations, including between N America and Latin America. Online knowledge resources of B!B!E!/bikecollectives are valuable for collectives anywhere, thus acting as information hubs. The role of the online event is to share information and strengthen connections. B!B!E! has tried to address issues of equality through language justice and holding BIPOC and queer spaces in gatherings.
angé voiced her view of how B!B! gathers different groups of people with different visions to come together. They would like to maintain the integrity of BB separate from FMB but it would be great to make connections there. To hold an assembly could help determine the host city for an in-person B!B!
Rachel brought up the possibility of making a hybrid event possible, for those who would like to attend an in-person event. April notes that although hybrid events seem really interesting but it is very hard to do them well, so that the virtual experience is as involved as the in person experience.
April noted that B!B!E! has a bucket to receive and disburse funds for event travel equity. There are currently funds in the Language Justice bucket (left over from the 2022 B!B!E! event) that could potentially be re-allocated to travel equity if/when we confirm that all interpreters have been paid. https://opencollective.com/bikebike-everywhere
Recommendations
Alejandro notes it´s important to prioritize connections, access and diversity for B!B!E!
It is also important to be sensitive to both our subalternity and positionality as we bring issues of gender equity and zero tolerance for gender abuse and violence to our organizing of B!B!E!
Angie remarks that for those connections to be long-lasting it is worthy to consider B!B!E! as an ongoing forum instead of a one-time event. Online gatherings aren't for everybody. To make it friendly, one of the best things is to speak directly with people/collectives and talk to them about B!B!E!
angé, Rachel, and Angie concurred on the idea an exercise of horizontality by putting out a survey to learn about the community´s needs, the issues they´re interested in being discussed, asking what BBE could look like if it took place at different periods.
Angie suggested a virtual event could be only one day of speakers - ponencias - and the rest of the time could be more of a forum, of conversations. From the feedback, what was lacking was a space for informal gatherings to get to know each other better.
Further Action
Rachel will be starting a document for the poll for us to learn what we´d like to know from the community. angé can help translate the document. (Angel cautions that surveys shared through our existing outreach channels will skew toward the predominantly US white male cycling community, and to keep that in mind when designing the survey and interpreting the responses.)
Alejandro would be happy to make connections between B!B! community and FMB and invite the bike collectives community to FMB.
Meeting in two weeks’ time when poll document is near finalizing.
Proposed Meeting Date: Feb 20, 3pm Pacific, 5pm CDMX time.
Last but not least
Rachel can work on Rachel can work on graphics/social media collateral. Has pro canva account.
angé and Nat who have been vital organizers of past B!B!E! and B!B! 2019 Tijuana organizers, can help out on the interpretation team.
Alejandro is a board member with FMB and l´heurage cyclage.
FMB Brasilia will take place September 4-8