As many of you are aware, there has been increased attention to and discussion of racial injustice in the past few weeks–particularly centred in the United States. While we represent a global network of bicycle travellers, this has prompted our team to think about systemic racism within and outside the bike community, and what our responsibilities are as an organization to help build a better society for all people.
Wamshowers Foundation values inclusivity and diversity. We believe that exchanging differences is part of what makes bike touring and hosting such a rich experience, and we want our users to be able to share their unique stories with one another in a welcoming and respectful manner. We recognize however that cycling and the cycling community are not free from the impact of racism. From the lack of black riders among the professional leagues, to safety concerns for people of colour on the road and in the outdoors, to lack of bike infrastructure in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods, there are unique barriers people of colour face in accessing cycling.
We want to do more to make this community accessible for everyone and to make sure that, as an organization, we are upholding our values in every aspect of our platform’s functioning. As such, we have committed to taking the following action. (please click here to see the full article)
We will be revisiting our policy for reviewing user-submitted complaints to ensure that any instances of discrimination occuring on our platform are addressed adequately and appropriately.
We will continue to work towards building a more diverse Board of Directors and group of volunteers to ensure that our community is represented by a variety of experiences and perspectives.
We will also carve out space on our platforms to share and amplify diverse stories, for example by featuring more international and diverse guests on our podcast and in our newsletter.
From the positive user feedback we receive, to stories from the road that we read, and even our own experiences hosting and touring, our board knows that Warmshowers represents an amazing community composed of so many wonderful cyclists. We want to see more people joining in this community and experiencing all that bicycle touring has to offer, so we are very excited to see how these changes help our community grow.