Thousands of people die on the world’s roads yearly due to road traffic crashes. To honour their lives and support those loved ones left behind, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a special online event to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. We are proud to have been asked to lead the production of this important event.

On Friday, 18 November, Dr Etienne Krug, WHO Director for the Social Determinants of Health, hosted an online session that featured different dignitaries and leaders of the road safety community, including:

• Dr Tedros Adhanom, WHO Director-General;
• Jean Todt, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety;
• Donna Price, Founder and Co-Chair of the International Road Victims’ Partnership;
• Monica Dongban, Founder of Keep Roads Safe Demand Trust Fund;
• Valeria Motta, Director of Advocacy and Partnerships of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety; and
• Deepanshu Gupta, Member of the Youth Leadership Board of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety.

Donna and Monica shared their testimonials after losing their sons, Darren and Samson. For years, they have become committed advocates for road safety, supporting other victims and families left behind and demanding systemic changes to prevent and stop such as preventable road tragedies in their countries. 

The programme also included two acted pieces developed by Soul City Arts. The first intervention pictured a young doctor speaking to his mother from the grave about his regrets for no longer being here. The second one brought to the screen the echo of a mother talking about her beloved son and her commitment to keep fighting until fundamental changes happen. 

In the last segment, Valeria from the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety confirmed the pledge of civil society organisations. She called to think and act differently to achieve the new Decade of Action’s commitments. Deepanshu shared his vision of the future and reinforced that young people must be engaged at every stage of the decision-making process to design and deliver effective policies on road safety and sustainable mobility.

In his closing remarks, Dr Krug called for a commitment to adopt and adapt the strategies outlined in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, to hold governments accountable, and to do what everybody can to achieve the goals. 

“I envision a World Day of Remembrance when we pay tribute to road traffic victims and celebrate a world where no one dies from a road crash, and no families are debilitated because of road crashes.”

Deepanshu Gupta – Youth Leadership Board member of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety

About the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was started by RoadPeace in 1993. In 2005, the United Nations endorsed it as a global day to be observed every third Sunday in November each year as the “appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic injuries and their families”. Since then, the World Day of Remembrance has been observed and promoted worldwide by many governments, international agencies and groups such as the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR), the International Road Victims’ Partnership (IRVP) and the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and their associated members. WHO and the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration encourage all road safety stakeholders to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance to pay homage to those who have died on the world’s roads, advocate for better support for victims and bereaved families and promote action to save lives.

The United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) recently released a call for expression announcement inviting qualified Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from low-to-middle-income countries who are interested in being considered for direct access to UNRSF grants in the future. The call for expression runs until the 18th of November 2022.

From the UNRSF website: The Fund’s 2022 – 2025 Business Plan expressly commits to exploring ways of opening up direct access to its global pooled fund to participating UN organizations and viable non-UN organizations alike. This Call for Expression of Interest to civil society organizations is a first step and direct response to that commitment. 

The CSOs applying must meet certain conditions to be eligible for the assessment under the call. These requirements state that the organization must; (1) be registered as a non-profit nongovernmental organization; semi-governmental organization; non-profit company, or cooperative society, (2) be able to implement required road safety interventions in more than one LMIC, (3) have a proven track record of implemented road safety interventions in one or more of the Fund’s five areas, (4) employ more than three staff members, (5) demonstrate the existence of a governance framework, and (6) be willing to mandatorily undertake the micro-assessment under the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) framework. 

The submissions and inquiries must be made in the English language and sent to the unrsf_secretariat@un.org 

MORE DETAILS HERE

Manila, Philippines – This week, 11-13 October, our members Ray Adrian Macalalag and Maolin Macatangay joined the Asia Development Bank’s Dialogue for Powered-Two-Wheeled Vehicles to advocate for meaningful youth participation to help address road safety issues for road users, particularly those who use motorcycles, e-bikes, and other two-wheeled vehicles.

Ray and Mao were the only youth delegation during the event, championing the youth agenda and the importance and necessity of meaningful youth participation. On the first day, Ray and Mao joined the opening session to talk about youth actions in road safety supported by YOURS – Youth for Road Safety and the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. 

“At the center of the Youth Coalition are youth leadership structures where young people around the world function as the engine. We have a youth leadership board that oversees the activities, initiatives, and projects of the Youth Coalition making sure it aligns with the youth and road safety agenda.” – Ray Adrian Macalalag.

During the opening session, Ray and Mao joined global road safety leaders including Nhan Tran from the World Health Organization, Nikorn Chamnong from the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Road Safety Legislators, Dave Shelton from the Asia Development Bank, and Patrick Osewe also from the Asia Development Bank. 

Apart from different sessions that discussed different elements of road safety connected to powered-two-wheeled vehicles, the event also included a series of dialogues where all the delegates had a chance to speak about issues from tactical urbanism to the integration of diverse voices in road safety planning. 

The second day of the event saw Mao and Ray leading a dialogue on the barriers that hinder diverse voices from being considered in road safety planning, especially around two-vehicle safety. 

The third day of the event covered the APRSO Annual Meeting for the Asia Pacific Region to talk about implementing the Global Plan to achieve the targets listed in the Decade of Action for 2021-2030. 

Throughout the event, Ray and Mao also shared our Advocacy tools, which include our Policymakers’ Toolkit, SDG 4 Policy Brief, and SDG 5 Policy Brief to engage and connect with ministers, policymakers, ministers, and other stakeholders.

DOWNLOAD OUR POLICYMAKERS’ TOOLKIT

We’ve officially launched the second module of YOURS Academy today, September 28, in an online session with our members and partners! This latest module covers the Safe Systems Approach and the Risk Factors that increase the chances of getting involved in a road crash. The topic comes right after discussing the Global Road Safety Problem and Youth.

The Safe Systems Approach to road safety accepts the reality that human error is inevitable, especially for youth still developing physically and cognitively. The system looks to ensure that no child, young person, or road user has to pay an unacceptably high price for their mobility.

The module will explore the five pillars of the Safe Systems; multimodal transport and land-use planning, safe road infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe road use, and post-crash care. If these pillars come together, it is possible to mitigate human error and save lives. 

From this module and through our interactive, brain-friendly, and evidence-based resources, you – our learners, will be able to identify the key elements of the Safe Systems Approach and explain the key risk factors that put young people at risk on the world’s roads, and explain what steps young people can take to be role models for safe behavior on the road. 

“Humans make mistakes. Humans are fallible and so the system around them needs to be designed in a way that protects them when the worst happens. We also have limited physical tolerance for injuries, especially our most vulnerable members of society, and so we need to move from blaming to protecting via the system.”

Our discussion on the Safe Systems Approach and the Risk Factors will serve as a foundation for understanding why we’re prioritizing road safety and sustainable mobility. The module will also show examples of how young leaders and road safety advocates can take action against road traffic crashes.

The first module is still available to complete. It covers the global road safety problem and youth and will set the stage for the discussion covered in the second module. 

Learn more about the Safe Systems Approach and the risk factors that can influence your experiences on the road by going to our website! 

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One of our regional leaders from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, Olufunke Afesojaye, joined the SVRI Forum earlier from the 19th to the 23rd of September in Cancún, Mexico. The SVRI, which means Sexual Violence Research Initiative, aims to achieve a world free of violence against women and children. In one of SDG 5 Policy Brief, we highlight how road safety connects with gender equality and the importance of providing women with safe spaces to move.

In our Policy Brief, co-written by Olufunke, we emphasize the reality of the lack of equitable access to safe and secure mobility for women and girls. This continues to be a global issue that results in the denial of access to services and economic, political, social, educational, and cultural opportunities. This also results in a culture of creating significant barriers to equal participation between genders. 

The SVRI Forum presented the newest innovations for preventing and responding to gender-based violence, especially in low-to-middle-income countries. The Forum also provided different stakeholders, researchers, and practitioners in the field of violence against to meet and connect. As a delegate, Olufunke had the opportunity to share her experiences as an advocate for road safety and against gender-based violence.

The Forum presented cases on why violence against women results in global inequality. The research shows that nearly 1 out of 3 (35%) women have experienced physical and sexual violence worldwide. This includes sexual harassment and violence in public spaces and unsafe modes of transport.

One of our regional leaders from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, Olufunke Afesojaye, joined the SVRI Forum earlier from the 19th to the 23rd of September in Cancún, Mexico. The SVRI, which means Sexual Violence Research Initiative, aims to achieve a world free of violence against women and children. In one of SDG 5 Policy Brief, we highlight how road safety connects with gender equality and the importance of providing women with safe spaces to move.

In our Policy Brief, co-written by Olufunke, we emphasize the reality of the lack of equitable access to safe and secure mobility for women and girls. This continues to be a global issue that results in the denial of access to services and economic, political, social, educational, and cultural opportunities. This also results in a culture of creating significant barriers to equal participation between genders.

The SVRI Forum presented the newest innovations for preventing and responding to gender-based violence, especially in low-to-middle-income countries. The Forum also provided different stakeholders, researchers, and practitioners in the field of violence against to meet and connect. As a delegate, Olufunke had the opportunity to share her experiences as an advocate for road safety and against gender-based violence.

The Forum presented cases on why violence against women results in global inequality. The research shows that nearly 1 out of 3 (35%) women have experienced physical and sexual violence worldwide. This includes sexual harassment and violence in public spaces and unsafe modes of transport.