A Dublin football club has launched a new free smartphone app, which seeks to develop a culture of “cooperative climate action” in the local community.
On Saturday, Bohemian Football Club launched The Bohemian Way, a collaborative effort between the club, local community organisations, and environmental groups.
The project’s centrepiece is a new free smartphone app that invites users on a guided tour through Dublin 7, from the Gate Cottage at the Phoenix Park to Dalymount, the homeplace of Bohemians.
The Bohemian Way features a trove of new music from artists including John Francis Flynn, Maija Sofia, Oisín Leech, and Louise Gaffney, as well as poets including John Cummins, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe and Lewis Kenny.
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These songs and poems, like all the artefacts on the Bohemian Way, will have to be discovered by the user. They do this by finding the location at which the artefacts are hidden by walking around Dublin 7.
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As users explore the north inner city, they uncover three interwoven stories: the history of the football club, the history of the city and the story of the future climate transition.
Seán McCabe, head of climate justice and sustainability at Bohemian Football Club, said the app is “full of things for users to discover”.
“The idea is that among the music, poetry and histories, people will also discover practical ways to engage in climate action in their community collectively and, hopefully, sign up to participate,” he said.
The app is the latest initiative by the club to increase their impact on the community.
It currently runs a programme to help reduce reoffending; children in Direct Provision centres receive Christmas presents from the club every year, while kids in Palestine receive Bohs football gear.
Daniel Lambert, chief operating officer of Bohemian, said the project “reflects our commitment to helping build for an ever more socially and environmentally responsible community in Dublin 7 and beyond”.
“Bohs is founded on a spirit of cooperation, creativity and active citizenship. We are fortunate to be able to use the Creative Climate Action Fund to shine a light on all those in our community applying the same spirit to the climate crisis,” he added.
Creative Ireland, funders of the Bohemian Way through the Creative Climate Action Fund, has welcomed the project.
Tania Banotti, director of Creative Ireland, said: “The Bohemian Way project demonstrates how an array of creativity can come together to demonstrate and encourage collaboration in the face of climate change.”
