Cyclists offer youth ‘reason to dream’ of a sustainable world

They repair their own bikes, their bodies and offer a ‘reason to dream’ of a sustainable world.
A group of 15 young people from across Canada cycled through Prince Edward County this week armed with an inspiring message of youth empowerment and sustainable consumption as part of the Phenomenal Food Tour organized by The Otesha Project.

The youth – ages 18-30 – are cycling from Toronto to Ottawa from May 7th to June 22nd to deliver their award-winning programming in cities, towns and villages along the way.  They performed the play ‘Reason to Dream’ for students at Sophiasburgh Central School on Monday. The play follows the experience of a typical Canadian teenager as mysterious forces confront him with the environmental and social impacts of his daily actions.  This sends him – and the audience – on journey on the path of sustainability, exploring all the positive dietary, transport, media, water and energy use choices to be made along the way.

The members of the traveling theatre troupe make up a mobile sustainable community and cycle from performance to performance, braving the elements, and opening conversations in communities about how to live sustainably.
As they pedal more than 1,250 kilometres across Ontario, they explore the ups and downs of directly addressing environmental and social justice issues through their own every day actions.

The Otesha Project was founded in 2002 as a youth-led charitable organization that uses theatre to mobilize young people to create local and global change through their daily consumer choices. The Otesha Project has performed to more than 100,000 people across Canada and won awards for their innovative and effective youth engagement programs.