We are very excited to announce that we have appointed Laura Daniela Gómez from Colombia as our newest Capacity Development Manager. In her role, Daniela will provide technical support and be a fundamental part of implementing actions within our Capacity Development strategies. She started working with us early this September.

Capacity Development Manager role
Earlier this July, we launched a call for applications for our Capacity Development manager position. As we grow our capacity-building efforts through YOURS Academy and our Capacity Development Sessions, the newest post will add additional support to our work of empowering youth leaders to take action on road safety needs through road safety education.

The new position also entails supporting and guiding team members and youth leaders to develop training curriculums, manuals, modules, and relevant guidelines for project-based capacity development needs.

The call for applications invited professionals from around the world to apply and after a thorough recruitment process, we accepted Daniela for the role.

Meet our new manager
Daniela has been with us since the 2nd World Youth Assembly which happened on February 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was one of the youth delegates who attended and was the first prize winner of our Impact Generator Challenge. 

She was one of the first members of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety and has gone on to win two consecutive Local Actions, write the SDG 5 Policy Brief as an SDG Champion, and lead the Youth Coalition as a member of the Youth Leadership Board.

Daniela has also worked as a project manager of Despacio, a research center based in Bogota, Colombia that promotes the quality of life by creating humane, friendly, and sustainable cities.

On joining the YOURS Team, Dani shares, “Being part of the Capacity Development Team is a unique opportunity! For the last few years, I’ve been following up on the wonderful work that YOURS does on road safety and promoting meaningful youth participation, and now I’m happy to say I’m part of the staff. I look forward to contributing to the organization with all my creativity and commitment, creating useful tools not only for young leaders but also for decision-makers.”

Welcome to the team, Dani!

Last week from 16 – 19 September, our members Alison Collard de Beaufort and Thiago Gruner joined the United Nations Transforming Education Summit at the UN Head Quarters in New York City. The Summit is a key initiative launched by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

It seeks to bring together education stakeholders from around the world for an inclusive, networked, and effective dialogue to discuss the progress around SDG 4: Quality Education. 

We joined delegations from government entities, representatives from the Member States, and youth members under the UN system in conversations aimed at mobilizing all stakeholders to support the transformation of education worldwide.  

At the Summit, our youth leaders met with decision-makers, talking about the connections between road safety and education through our SDG 4 Policy Brief. The relevance and importance of road safety fall under one of the thematic tracks of the Summit, specifically (1) Inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools. The other themes include (2) learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development, (3) teachers, teaching, and the teaching profession, (4) digital learning and transformation, and (5) financing of education.

In their conversations, Thiago and Alison talked about how road crashes are the leading killer of youth worldwide, emphasizing that 90% of child pedestrian fatalities occur within 500 meters of a school. 

They are guided by our Policy Brief which lists key facts and recommendations for ensuring safer school zones and safer journeys for students to and from school. 

Some of the recommendations highlighted in our Policy Brief include the enforcement of 30km/h speed limits in densely populated areas especially prioritizing school zones, better infrastructure for safe walking and cycling, and mainstreaming meaningful engagement of children and youth to ensure representation in efforts to address their needs when designing school and university environments. It seeks to bring together education stakeholders from around the world for an inclusive, networked, and effective dialogue to discuss the progress around SDG 4: Quality Education.

We joined delegations from government entities, representatives from the Member States, and youth members under the UN system in conversations aimed at mobilizing all stakeholders to support the transformation of education worldwide.

At the Summit, our youth leaders met with decision-makers, talking about the connections between road safety and education through our SDG 4 Policy Brief. The relevance and importance of road safety fall under one of the thematic tracks of the Summit, specifically (1) Inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools. The other themes include (2) learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development, (3) teachers, teaching, and the teaching profession, (4) digital learning and transformation, and (5) financing of education.

The Summit, taking place during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, was convened by the Secretary-General to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda while also maximizing public awareness and engagement. 

We maintain that road safety is important in addressing the targets under SDG 4. Prioritizing road safety will also fast-track the achievement of the other Global Goals, including Education. Access our Policy Brief for more details. 

DOWNLOAD SDG 4 POLICY BRIEF

Last Month, August, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt met up with some of our youth leaders from Latin America to talk about some of the most pressing road safety issues young people face. He met with Aldo González Barrera and Ana Ródriguez from Mexico, Laura Daniela Gómez from Colombia, and Cecilia Morales from Guatemala. 

The first stop was in Mexico where Aldo and Ana asked for support from local federal authorities, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing road safety actions around schools with the support of young people. They also discussed the current situation in Mexico brought on by the Mobility and Road Safety Law. 

Also making their way into the discussion are the youth-led efforts Aldo and Ana have taken part in through Liga Peatonal and the Youth Coalition’s Local Actions initiative. They talked about how the work they take part in is usually done as volunteers, promoting advocacy processes. Aldo and Ana also promoted our recently published Policymakers’ Toolkit.

Our Policymakers’ Toolkit is here! We bring you a unique advocacy document that will help policymakers and decision-makers meaningfully engage with young people. This Toolkit promotes the core principles of meaningful youth participation as a cycle of relationship building, commitment, investment, and a shift in mindset around the idea of working with youth and for youth.

Once you download our Toolkit, you will have access to a road map that will guide you through the ins and outs of meaningful youth participation. It will pave the way for the development, implementation, and evaluation of road safety policies with young people. 

You will also find case studies that show the tangible benefits of involving young people in local and global road safety efforts. We provide examples through the experiences of our youth leaders. Finally, you will get self-assessment scorecards that will support the evaluation of your efforts to meaningfully involve youth. The scorecards will also help you track your progress as you work on meaningful participatory practices. 

The Toolkit was initially presented during the High-Level Meeting on Road Safety which happened last 30 June. Our Executive Director, Floor Lieshout, spoke about the need for the Toolkit. He talked about what it meant to meaningfully involve youth in all stages of policymaking and decision-making.

He also provided a rundown of how local and global leaders can create inclusive impact through a cycle that focuses on mindset, the way of working, and commitment and investment in young people, their experiences, ideas, expertise, and perception.

Through the Toolkit, we highlight the fact that road traffic crashes are the leading killer of young people. We present key data that present the realities youth face on the world’s roads. We also acknowledge that human error is inevitable, especially for children and adolescents who are still developing physically and cognitively. This is why it’s important to create a system that takes into account these factors and design one that protects and involves youth.

“Road traffic crashes are the leading killer of youth. Young people are smart and creative. With our skills and ingenuity, we are able to work with decision-makers to reduce the number of deaths and achieve the global road safety mandates.” – Youth Advocate, Nigeria.

The Toolkit states that; the fundamental right of youth to meaningfully participate in policymaking processes is not a new idea. Participation is a human right recognized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child for those under 18 years of age; in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and is central to equal, inclusive, and sustainable development in the Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda. The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030 recognizes youth as a critical stakeholder vital to its successful delivery. 

If you haven’t yet, it’s time you meaningfully engage and work with young people. Download our Policymakers’ Toolkit to get started! 

DOWNLOAD OUR POLICYMAKERS’ TOOLKIT