Month: March 2022

Growing the cycling industry in Scotland

In 2023, Scotland is to host the Cycling World Championships, a two-week extravaganza that will bring together 13 international competitions in one country for the first time.

This inaugural mega event will provide an outstanding opportunity to showcase the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland (MTBCOS) research group and a new Innovation Centre at Innerleithen, in the Scottish Borders.

Edinburgh Napier University’s Professor Geraint Florida-James is playing a key role in establishing the new innovation centre – which marks an important milestone for the sport of cycling at home and worldwide. An applied researcher who is passionate about sports science and cycling, Professor Florida-James has been involved with the biking industry for nearly twenty years, also coaching athletes for the Downhill and the Cross-Country World Cups, as well as Professional Enduro Racers.

The MTBCOS is a project that started in 2014, with Edinburgh Napier University working in partnership with Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Cycling. Its role has been to help grow a Scottish cycling industry, with relevant research and help businesses take advantage of one of the country’s fastest-growing sports. The group provides support with market research, developing, testing, and launching new products.

The success of the project caught the attention of the Scottish and UK Governments and raised the profile of the sector internationally. As a result, with an additional partner, the South of Scotland Enterprise, the Centre has been fundamental in securing £19M of Borderlands Regional Growth Deal Funding to purchase the Caerlee Mill in Innerleithen, an old textile mill that has been out of use since 2013. Professor Florida-James emphasises that partnerships such as these are key for the Centre’s continued success.

Also included in the Borderlands Project is the first mechanical lift-assisted Bike Park in the Northern Hemisphere, which will be with a short ride of the Mill. Once renovated, the Mill and the surrounding world-class bike tracks will serve as an innovation site for the cycling industry ­- led by Edinburgh Napier – where new products can be developed and tested. In addition, the Hub will also explore supply chain issues and can connect local entrepreneurs with international audiences.

Professor Florida-James says, “we expect huge international interest around the 2023 Championships, which will help more companies become aware of the research and development potential here, and the potential to reshore some of the cycling industry to Scotland”.

The Centre has equally been supporting internal partners within Edinburgh Napier who are involved with mental health and wellbeing research, to identify ways cycling can boost these issues in Scotland and beyond. Various schools within the University will combine their research with the Centre through the new Innovation Hub, recognising the opportunities cycling presents for future health, wellbeing and economic development.

New report examines ways to support people with disabilities in Ukraine

There are currently almost 3 million persons registered as having a disability in Ukraine; however, numbers are likely to be higher as there is a lack of reliable and detailed statistics. The COVID-19 pandemic created many new barriers for people with disabilities while equally amplifying existing ones. Nevertheless, the war with Russia presents new and more complex challenges, and the need for support is great and urgent.

The devastating situation in Ukraine has become increasingly difficult for people living in the war-torn country and for those who have been displaced because of the conflict. Persons with disabilities are particularly affected since such conditions exacerbate existing challenges.

Kiril Sharapov, Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University has been researching the impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities in Ukraine in partnership with local universities and organisations. Originally, the group was motivated by a concerning lack of research projects that explored the point of view of persons with disabilities. They aimed to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on them by providing guidance and practical recommendations to organisations that wanted to help.

The participatory research project worked with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in Ukraine that collected data by interviewing people with disabilities and their households, exploring the pandemic’s effects on their everyday lives. The findings released today focus on the perspectives of the OPDs; after surveying 108 of them, the findings were presented to disability experts and activists who were asked to comment and create a set of recommendations.

The recommendations urge international donors to prioritise organisations ‘of’ persons with disabilities over organisations ‘for’, in these dark times, and allocate funding to cover organisational costs in addition to supporting short-term events and projects.

Going forward, the researchers strongly suggest that public authorities in Ukraine at all levels of governance recognise and support OPDs as key actors in ensuring and protecting the rights of persons they are taking care of. Additionally, it is advised that OPDs are regularly approached and consulted by decision-making bodies, when planning and sustaining the continuity of basic life support services in the event of future public emergencies.

Lastly, it is recommended that the government works in close cooperation with OPDs once peace is restored. The two parties should develop a rapid response protocol to establish a mechanism for rapid translation, interpretation, and dissemination of time-critical information in the event of any future public emergencies. The OPDs should receive allocated funding and tax exemptions, and civic participation should be encouraged among local communities to facilitate support and partnership between OPDs and volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders.

To read  The Impact Of COVID-19 On People With Disabilities In Ukraine: Perspectives Of Organisations Of People With Disabilities (Working Paper) in English, please visit: https://doi.org/10.17869/enu.2022.2849863. To read it in Ukrainian, please visit: https://doi.org/10.17869/enu.2022.2849877.