Making my daughters proud: why I’m joining my third Tech Bikers ride
Excited to pedal 420kms as a sponsor to raise funds for Room to Read
When former UN Secretary Kofi Annan passed away a few days back, Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Malala, shared in his memory one of his most famous statements, pronounced 15 years ago:
The complete message, pronounced in 2013, expands on how important women and girls’ empowerment is for the world to become a better place. Educating girls everywhere is the most effective change that can be done to improve everyone’s economic situation and life expectancy.
And still, after a decade of Kofi Annan’s appeal to the world, in 2014 the numbers were still gut-wrenching: of the 774 million adults (15 years and older) who still could not read or write, two–thirds of them (493 million) were women.
Do you think that today we are faring any better? According to Room to Read, the global organization solving this problem by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education, in 2018 still 758 million adults are illiterate, and the proportion of female illiteracy has stayed at two thirds.
2 out of 3 people who cannot read are women or girls.
As a father of two daughters, the thought is maddening. All my life achievements were only possible because I can communicate and understand what’s out there by reading and writing. And it will be the same for my girls. But unlike the parents of many women around the world, I have the privilege of not having to decide whether they should learn to read or not. It’s not a decision, it’s a given.
I’ve not always been aware about these issues: I came across all these numbers when I first met Eze Vidra, founder of TechBikers, and he told me about the mission of Room to Read. Now that I know though, I need to make my daughters proud: if I can help at least at least a single girl with something as easy for me to do as pedalling on my bike, be damn sure I will, over and over again.
This is why I’m joining TechBikers for a third round: after my first experience from Vienna to Budapest in May this year, where we raised over 15K for Room to Read, and then Paris to London, where we reached 36K together, I’m truly excited for the difference we’ll make cycling from Copenhagen to Berlin.
It’s a cause that I care about far beyond the personal level. That’s the reason why this time, I’m also bringing in my team at exit3x to join me in this adventure. 420Kms are waiting for us and only you can make it worthwhile: change the world with your donation here.
Not convinced yet? Just think about this: nothing you ever achieved would have been possible if you couldn’t read. Imagine how your life would be without the most basic skill we all give as guaranteed. While in the first world we are debating whether we will all became illiterate unless we all learn how to code and push for our children to get into programming ASAP, millions of people are out there without the means to understand their world and have their voices heard.
Yes, many more lack of other basics as food and clean water, but: how are they going to figure out a way out without learning how to read and write?
Give the gift of literacy to the world, and donate to my Techbikers ride today.
The only other acceptable choice is that you apply to one of the few spots left for the TechBikers Copenhagen to Berlin ride and DROP YOUR LAPTOP & GET ON YOUR BIKE this September!
