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Community Talk

Speaker Profile: Anne Bedos

12.06.15

Anne Bedos is a social entrepreneur known for cycling and community development in Ireland. Originally from France, Bedos moved to Ireland in 2004 and founded Rothar in 2008.

Rothar is pro cycling, pro recycling and pro doing it yourself. Since they opened up in Phibsboro in 2008 they have been taking in the broken and abandoned bikes of Dublin, doing them up and passing them on. Those bikes have avoided land fills and have made many a cyclist happy.

Anne explains why she set up Rothar, “I am an avid cyclist and passionate about social change: bicycles combine these two passions as they create healthier citizens, more liveable cities (less polluted and people friendly) and a great sense of community.”

Through workshops and classes, Rothar have also trained cyclists across the city how to fix, build and maintain their own bikes. They have expanded their premises out to Dun Laoghaire and a café on Dublin’s Fade Street.

As a social entrepreneur Anne hopes to make change in Ireland. Rothar trains and employs people as baristas and bicycle mechanics. They run a back to work scheme for ex-offenders, early school leavers and young offenders. Anne believes that social employment is key to economic recovery and social inclusion.

Anne Bedos (Rothar) will speak at Pecha Kucha with Sean Harrington (Sean Harrington Architects), Esther Gerrard (Bloom Fringe), Manchan Magan (RTE/TG4/The Irish Times), Gearoid Carvill and Kieran Harnett (Dublin Honey Company), Hollie Kearns and Rosie Lynch (Callan Workhouse Union), Douglas Carson (Carson and Crushell), Emmet Condon (Homebeat) and Sam Tranum (Liberties Press).

If you’re unfamiliar with the Pecha Kucha format, here it is in a nutshell: speakers get 20 slides, and 20 seconds to explain each. This is no excuse to talk through the technicalities of their work, but to provoke us into thinking about themes and issues that effect us all. Pecha Kucha is a not-for-profit event and is brough to you by Irish Architecture Foundation and Totally Dublin.

Wednesday 22 July, 7pm, The Sugar Club. Tickets are available on the door for just €5 and that includes a free Peroni beer.

Image: Cafe Rothar, photo by Spyros Papageorgiou