This weekend, Jeremy and I took our bicycles out for the first time in Baku to participate in a bike event to raise awareness about environmental and eco-friendly issues.
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| Erica on the Baku Boulevard along the Caspian Sea |
The embassy partnered with a local NGO, Nature Friends Youth Organization, to organize a fun ride through the city. Nature Friends is comprised primarily of Azerbaijani students who advocate for environmental preservation and eco-friendly transportation options. While most Americans have become used to "going green" campaigns in the United States, environmental advocacy is still in its infancy in Azerbaijan, thus the embassy's interest in participating and drawing attention to this activity.
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| Safety First! |
The event was very well organized, with opening speeches, press, a bicycle-safety briefing, and police escort. The police escort was key on Baku's hectic roads where bicyclists are an endangered species - officers stopped traffic at every intersection for us!
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| Our group of American and Azerbaijani cyclists |
Although a bike ride doesn't make international headlines like concluding negotiations with Iran, it's actually much more representative of the daily activities of a diplomat - making connections within the community, organizing events, and encouraging dialogue on a wide range of issues.
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