Bournemouth University and volunteer disability activists from East and Central Africa have come together to lead the Disability Advocacy in East Africa Project which looks to fuse academic research with practice in the fields of disability studies, political science, policy, education, advocacy, communication, arts, and more to build a research and action-oriented network to support persons with disabilities in East and Central Africa.

People behind the initiative
The project is being funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) – a group that prioritizes growing networks of academics, non-profit organizations, and disability activists focused on combating issues facing disabled people, specifically in East and Central Africa. 

ADD International will serve as the Project’s primary partner. ADD International is a disability rights organization that has been supporting disability activists to fight discrimination and ensure every disabled person gets a chance to live their best life. 

Other partners include YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, the Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Humanity and Inclusion, and the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety.

The Disability Advocacy Project
The Disability Advocacy in East Africa Project looks to equip a new generation of disability activists with the tools, skills, and resources required to build powerful movements for change by utilizing the knowledge, expertise, and network of existing partners. 

Through the Project, disability activists will be able to influence governments and other actors to adopt practices that consider the needs of disabled people and challenge the stigma of disability through a more robust public voice that champions and represents persons with disabilities.

To implement the Project, Bournemouth University will implement the following activities; (1) hold a four-day Festival of Disability Advocacy scheduled this April 2023 in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania that features capacity building and knowledge exchange workshops to connect international networks with disability activists, (2) create a program of online knowledge exchange and networking events led by disability activists and other partner groups, (3) develop a series of advocacy campaigns led by disability activists, and (4) develop an accessible website of training materials, case studies, and campaign toolkits. 

How can you get involved? 
The Project is looking for new participants to grow the network so that it becomes a powerful force for change. Here are some things you can do; volunteer yourself or a relevant colleague to lead knowledge-sharing sessions at the Festival for Disability or other online events, become a delegate and attend our events to learn and network with like-minded people and organizations, and act as a mentor to disabled activists implementing their own advocacy campaigns. 

Anyone who is interested in disability advocacy is more than welcome to participate in the Project and the events around its implementation. 

Send an email to jacksond@bournemouth.ac.uk and share a bit about who you are and the work you do. In the email, you can decide whether you want to join the official mailing list for updates, become a volunteer, become a delegate to attend the events, or become a mentor to disabled activists.

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety’s call for proposals for Local Actions 2023 is still live! The Local Actions is an opportunity for young people to create and implement road safety projects in their communities as a way to realize the demands presented in the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety and the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.

What is a Local Action? 
A Local Action is a short-term or mid-term grassroots action plan that is oriented toward addressing the most pressing road safety issues in the community. The project must address some of the four priorities initially identified to create the most impact. The priorities include; community mobilization and awareness, advocacy, peer-to-peer engagement, and infrastructure change. It is encouraged to combine two priorities for a much better chance of getting selected for a grant and support from the Youth Coalition.

This is the third consecutive year of the Local Actions initiative.

Since 2021, the Youth Coalition has funded and supported 29 youth-led road safety projects all around the world. In 2020, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, the initiators of the Youth Coalition, supported three projects through the Impact Generator Challenge launched during the 2nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety.

Every project was a clear response to the Youth Statement and the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. There were also clear-cut objectives that also address other Global Goals that are connected with road safety and sustainable mobility. 

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety’s call for proposals for Local Actions 2023 is still live! The Local Actions is an opportunity for young people to create and implement road safety projects in their communities as a way to realize the demands presented in the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety and the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.

What is a Local Action?
A Local Action is a short-term or mid-term grassroots action plan that is oriented toward addressing the most pressing road safety issues in the community. The project must address some of the four priorities initially identified to create the most impact. The priorities include; community mobilization and awareness, advocacy, peer-to-peer engagement, and infrastructure change. It is encouraged to combine two priorities for a much better chance of getting selected for a grant and support from the Youth Coalition.

This is the third consecutive year of the Local Actions initiative.

Since 2021, the Youth Coalition has funded and supported 29 youth-led road safety projects all around the world. In 2020, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, the initiators of the Youth Coalition, supported three projects through the Impact Generator Challenge launched during the 2nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety.

Every project was a clear response to the Youth Statement and the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. There were also clear-cut objectives that also address other Global Goals that are connected with road safety and sustainable mobility.

We capped off 2022 by forwarding the youth and road safety agenda during the 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. The event, which happened from the 27th to the 30th of November in Adelaide, Australia brought together the global injury prevention community to highlight the vital work done on injury prevention and safety promotion.

SDG Champion for Education Nkumbuye Ami and YOURS – Youth for Road Safety Junior Project Manager Sana’a Khasawneh represent the Youth Coalition during the event. Ami and Sana’a presented evidence-based examples of how young people are working to meet the targets in the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. They also emphasized the importance of different stakeholders working together to implement the World Health Organization (WHO) Policies for violence and injury prevention. 

As stated in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety, young people are key stakeholders in addressing road safety issues around the world. As a result, youth are calling on leaders and decision-makers to be included in the policymaking process on road safety and sustainable mobility. 

Ami presented a study on the causes of road crashes among the students in the Huye District and Kigali City in Rwanda which contextualized the road safety issues young people face, especially in low-to-middle-income countries. He talked about how he conducted the research and how the data was collected and analyzed. The results showed that high speeds usually cause road crashes in the area. This was followed by a lack of education, drunk driving, and poor road infrastructure.

Sana’a joined a panel called State-of-the-Art Session – Road Safety: Vision Zero by 2050. How will we get there? She was joined by Nneka Henry of the United Nations Road Safety Fund, John Crozier of the National Trauma Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Martin Small of Martin Small Consulting, Monica Olyslagers of the International Road Assessment Programme – iRAP, and Etienne Krug of the World Health Organization. 

During her intervention, Sana’a talked about how leaders can best involve young people in the policymaking process for road safety through the YOURS Policymakers’ Toolkit. She also provided the youth perspective on what could be done best to improve efforts toward achieving Vision Zero. 

Throughout the event, our representatives elevated the demands of youth for road safety and sustainable mobility through meaningful youth engagement. They presented the work the Youth Coalition has done, through the Local Actions initiative,  in supporting young people in creating and implementing impactful road safety projects in their communities. 

“With our Local Actions and advocacy efforts implemented at both local and global levels, we aim to put road safety on the Global Agenda as part of the 2030 Youth Strategy and SDG implementation.” 

Our representatives also shared our SDG Policy Briefs which establish the linkages between road safety and the rest of the Global Goals. Currently, we have three Policy Briefs published; SDG 4: Our Action Agenda for Safe Journeys to School, SDG 5: Gender Equality and Safe and Secure Mobility, and SDG 13: Safe Roads to a Climate-Proof Future.

Over 200 people registered for the event. Our representatives joined policymakers, government officials, researchers, NGO workers, academics, financers of prevention programs, safety officers, local council workers, health professionals, and more.

WATCH LIVE SESSION HERE