On 22 September 2017, along with the rest of the world Azerbaijan celebrated the World Carfree Day. IDEA Campaign together with its partners Heydar Aliyev Center and the Azerbaijan Cycling Federation called everyone to give up their cars for one day, and do things more by walking, biking and taking public transportation.

The official carfree day celebration in Baku consisted of the two stages: a bike ride and awareness raising program.

First, a cycling rally was organized with participation of 200 cyclists, in an effort to promote mass transit, cycling and walking, and encourage people to be less dependent on their cars. After the rally, the celebration continued with a fun awareness-raising program. The program included professional biking and skateboarding shows, training workshops for kids, knowledge competitions, prizes and surprises, as well as exhibition of locally made ISMA bikes and unusual handmade bicycles by a young designer Rafael Hamidoglu.

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Dedicated to the protection of environment, the World Carfree Day campaign was first nationally inaugurated in Great Britain in 1997. Currently, the day is celebrated by almost 35 countries and more than 1500 cities. It’s is known that the pollutants from emissions have a proven impact on our health and our environment. Participants of this campaign drawing public attention to the causes and effects of climate change.