A huge congratulations to our SDG Champion, Dr. Omnia El Omrani, for being named the official Youth Envoy for the UN Climate Change Conference 2022, Conference of Parties (COP27) taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt! Omnia is one of our youth leaders leading the policy brief on SDG 13: Climate Action. She has also represented the Youth Coalition during the previous UN Climate Change Conference or COP26.

Youth Envoy for COP27 
On July 7, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and President Designate of COP27 H.E. Sameh Shoukry announced Omnia as the official Youth Envoy for COP27. As the Youth Envoy, Omnia will promote the inclusion of youth and youth organizations around the world during the Conference. She will also ensure that youth voices are heard before, during, and well after the conference. Omnia had also met up with the Minister of Youth in Egypt H.E. Ashraf Sobhy to discuss how Egyptian youth and youth-led organizations can be better involved in the Conference. 

During COP26, Omnia joined a panel titled “the future of health care” by emphasizing the role of youth in future initiatives in both health and climate. During the previous Conference, Omnia also shared the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety as well as an Annex highlighting the demand of youth called “There Is No Planet B”. 

Taking action: addressing the climate emergency 
Tiffany Fourment (2015) from the World Meteorological Organization writes that the Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making body responsible for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. A key task of COP is to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties as a way to better understand and address the climate crisis. 

Young people have also had roles during the Conference, linking climate with issues such as road safety. The previous year, we led an official side event titled “mobilizing youth on converging the climate and mobility agenda”. This was also something participated by Omnia where she discussed youth initiatives, especially by the Youth Coalition, to address climate change.

Omnia will continue to champion youth voices, especially now with her role as COP27’s official youth envoy. She shares “ As the COP27 Envoy of Youth, I am so excited and relentless to enable a meaningful and inclusive platform for youth at the front lines of climate change to empower  them to drive policymakers towards scaling up their climate implementation mechanisms, inspiring youth-led grassroots initiatives, and bringing awareness to scalable solutions and the instrumental impact they are bringing.”

READ ABOUT OMNIA’S INVOLVEMENT AT COP26

ELEVATING THE CALL FOR MEANINGFUL YOUTH PARTICIPATION: YOURS – Youth for Road Safety representatives speak during the Standing Committee on the Transport of the House of Representatives of Thailand in their seminar on road safety and youth involvement. The event was titled “Towards the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety: Safety for Children and Participation of Young People” and it put the spotlight on having young people’s inputs in road safety efforts in Thailand. 

Elevating the call for meaningful youth participation: YOURS – Youth for Road Safety representatives again joined the Standing Committee on the Transport of the House of Representatives of Thailand in their seminar on road safety and youth involvement. The event, titled “Towards the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety: Safety for Children and Participation of Young People”, happened on July 18 at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel in Bangkok. 

YOURS advocacy director Stefania Minniti and YOURS junior project manager Sana’a Khasawneh spoke on behalf of the team, highlighting the importance of meaningful youth participation. 

The Thai Government-Led meeting brought to the center the importance of creating spaces for young people’s participation in the development and implementation of road safety policies, especially in Thailand. The Meeting also sought to gather information from multiple sectors with regard to the implementation of their Land Traffic act, collect input from young people for the development of Thailand’s Road Safety Master Plan, and initiate a pilot project to reduce speeds in school zones.

From the Meeting, the Standing Committee aimed to see more youth representatives engaged in the development and implementation of road safety policies and activities in Thailand. They were also looking to get inputs from young people to include in Thailand’s Road Safety Master Plan 2022-2027. 

During the YOURS intervention, our representatives talked about our upcoming Policymaker’s Toolkit that guides policymakers, practitioners and other organizations on how to meaningfully engage and involve youth. 

The Toolkit, created with the support of FIA Foundation, offers the road safety community with evidence-based practices to systematically integrate meaningful youth participation into policy design, financing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation for road safety and sustainable mobility.

“Our definition of meaningful youth participation is that young people’s experiences, ideas, expertise and perspectives are systematically integrated into programmatic, policy and decision-making institutions.”

The happened on July 18 at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel in Bangkok. 

CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR POLICY BRIEFS

With the release of our latest policy brief on gender equality and safe and secure mobility, our leaders have been working hard to establish the linkages between road safety and the Global Goals. Olulfunke Afesojaye (Nigeria), one of our SDG Champions for Gender Equality in Road Safety, joined the Nalafem Summit last July 1 to represent the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. 

The Nalafem Summit creates a platform for convening Nigerian feminists across the African continent. According to Nala Feminist Collective (NalaFEM), “the forum aims to foster, enable, and mobilize women and girls across Africa and the diaspora in solidarity with Nigerian activists.” It also provides a space for advocacy, mentorship, solidarity, and partnerships.

This year, the summit featured renowned activists and gender advocates  Aisha Yesufu,  Abiola Akinyode, Djibril Dialo, Natasha Kagumirea. Also present were stakeholders like the Minister of Women Affairs and the  Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nation in the person of H.E Amb.Fatima Kyari Mohammed , Mr. Sam Itode , and many others.

Olufunke joined these esteemed participants as a delegate for the Summit. Speaking with different leaders and representatives present, Olufunke shared some key facts and figures about how women are more at risk in the event of road traffic crashes. She also shared some case studies that shed light on the aftermath of women in the face of unsafe road infrastructure, unsustainable modes of transport, and a mobility system that was designed for the opposite sex.

Despite the present situation women are subject to on the road, Olufunke shared that there have been efforts to address these issues through organizations like Nala and the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety.

With other participants, she shared the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety and the Youth Coalition Policy Briefs as resources that help elevate the call for ending gender discrimination, promoting intergenerational co-leadership, and inclusive, equitable and quality education, especially on road safety and sustainable mobility. 

Olufunke had also shared conversations about how road crashes are the leading cause of death among young people and how it connects with sustainable development.

As a delegate, she discussed how road safety relates to the rest of the Global Goals and how young people play a crucial role in achieving the SDG targets in road safety and in other areas. She shared how the Youth Coalition, through the SDG champions, has developed policy briefs as advocacy tools that connect road safety with the wider SDG Agenda.

“We call on decision-makers at the international, national, regional, and local levels to foster systematic and meaningful youth participation at all stages of policymaking to proactively deliver intergenerational equity. Build alliances and develop a common agenda with other NGOs who work on road safety or interlinking agendas and  SDGs such as climate action, sustainable cities, health and gender equality.”

MORE ABOUT THE NALAFEM SUMMIT

New York, USA – Last week, June 30, delegates from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety flew to represent young people worldwide during the High-Level Meeting on Road Safety. Estiara Ellizar (Indonesia), Jacob Smith (USA), Simon Patrick Obi (Nigeria), and Yasmine Al Moghrabi (Lebanon) along with our team led an official side event during the Meeting that called on local and global leaders to meaningfully engage with youth when it comes to all stages of decision-making in road safety and sustainable mobility.

Art, road safety, and meaningful youth engagement 
“Stop Blaming Us & Start Engaging Us,” this was the call our young delegates elevated during the High-Level Meeting, highlighted during our official side event. We worked closely with Lisa Russell, Founder of Create2030, to ensure that the event was informative and empowering as well as creatively delivered through dance, music, and other artistic interpretations. 

Lisa shared how art can be used to draw attention and raise awareness around the road safety and youth agenda. “Artists have a role and place in this movement and a lot of times we have challenges that have been similar to what young people face in this environment of feeling like a lot of our participation is tokenized but are we really involved in the conversation?” 

The event was officially opened by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director of Social Determinants of Health of WHO Etienne Krug, and United Nations Special Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake. 

Each of our speakers spoke about why it’s so important to have young people working with all stakeholders to address the biggest killer of youth; road traffic crashes. In his speech, Etienne shared the unacceptable reality youth have to live with. 

“It’s true, you guys have inherited a dirty, unsafe, unsustainable transport system – and you are blamed for it. You’re blamed because you are dying on the roads and of course, this is unacceptable.” – Etienne Krug 

Supporting the need to protect and engage youth, Jayathma emphasizes that youth have started and continue to rise up to the world’s challenges ‘with or without the world noticing.’ 

Start engaging us
The event continued with an intergenerational dialogue between representatives of the Youth Coalition Yasmine Al Moghrabi and Simon Patrick Obi with Vice Minister of Planning and Regulation Of the Ministry of Public Work, Dominican Republic H.E. Angel Salvador Tejeda and Lord Mayor of Kampala City, Uganda H.E. Erias Lukwago. The dialogue was moderated by Professor Adnan Hyder from George Washington University. 

The panelists spoke about their thoughts on youth engagement, shedding light on how different sectors and generations understand youth and road safety. Despite differences in perspectives brought on by the respective status quos of the different countries, the similarity is reflected in the fact that youth are the victims and that the system needs to be adjusted to meet the needs of youth and to involve them. 

New York, USA – Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety Youth Leadership Board Member Estiara Ellizar and North America Regional Leader Jacob Smith joined a multi-stakeholder panel for the High-Level Meeting on Road Safety to represent the demands of young people to decision-makers for road safety. The panel was held on July 1, the second day of the High-Level Meeting, at the United Nations Headquarters. 

The panel discussion revolved around mobilizing all stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the Global Plan and achieve a 50% reduction in road-related deaths and injuries. 

Jacob represented YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, posing a question for all stakeholders present on behalf of young people around the world. During his intervention, Jacob asked leaders about including young people in actions to address road safety and other development issues. 

Estiara was one of the panelists of the session. She joined the Minister of Equipment and Transport from Mauritania H.E. Mr. Mokhtar Ahmed El Yedali, Executive Director of FIA Foundation Mr. Saul Billingsley, and President of the Foundation of Gonzalo Rodriguez in Uruguay Ms. Fernanda Rodriguez. 

Talking about addressing the biggest killer of youth, Estiara calls on local and global leaders to make the right decision and have youth represented in all stages of policymaking and decision-making that have to do with road safety and sustainable mobility. 

“Will you make the right decision today to ensure that youth are meaningfully engaged and represented in all decision-making processes that affect road safety or will you explain to your children, to your grandchildren in 2030 that you failed to seize the opportunity to stop the number one killer on the roads?” 

The sessions continued with other stakeholders. Other topics were around incorporating road safety into sustainable development politically and sustained domestic investment and international financing for capacity building and development assistance in evidence-based road safety interventions.

READ ABOUT OUR OFFICIAL HLM SIDE EVENT