Earlier on Tuesday, 15 February, the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, African Union, and the European Union came together to organize “Youth and Road Safety in Africa”, one of the official side-events during Africa-Europe week that leads up to the EU-AU Summit. During the session, youth leaders and high-level policymakers came together to talk about the road safety situation around African roads and how these issues affect young people.

Youth taking action 
The session featured different speakers representing young people and leaders from both the African Union and the European Union. It was split into three parts; an intergenerational dialogue on the challenges on African roads from a youth perspective, a discussion on practical solutions through case studies, and a conversation on how and where to embed meaningful youth engagement on road safety policy-making.

Throughout the event, leaders from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety talked about their daily experiences when dealing with issues on the road. Youth Leadership Board member, Simon Patrick Obi, gave some examples of recent road crashes that happened in Nigeria. He emphasizes that there is a level of apathy every time these crashes occur. He called on governments, media outlets, and other organizations not just to pay more attention to issues around road safety but to also involve young people in all stages of decision-making and project implementation.

EU Youth Sounding Board representative and Youth Coalition SDG Champion Omnia el Omrani talked about her experiences as a doctor, talking about how often they admit patients who’ve suffered from road traffic trauma.

Other leaders from the Youth Coalition shed light on what it means to meaningfully engage with young people. Youth Leadership Board Member Oliva Nalwadda and regional leader Linda Nekesa shared how the Youth Coalition supports and empowers youth to take action for road safety on both local and global levels.

Oliva also encourages the global youth to take part and take action on issues that affect them. “Be bold. Take action in creative ways and be loud at the decision-making table.”

Results of the session
High-level policymakers and decision-makers attending the event acknowledged the difficulties youth and other road users face in the African region. HE Benacer Boulaajoul, General Director of the National Road Safety Agency in the Kingdom of Morocco, sheds light on the lack of support there is for improvements in road safety in mobility in the region, emphasizing that road traffic injuries are a major development problem in Africa.

Representatives of the European Union and the European Commission showed and expressed their support to improve road safety in the region and keep youth safe. HE Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, says “Let’s keep roads safe. Let’s guarantee our youth’s future”. 

Meanwhile, European Coordinator for Road Safety and Sustainable mobility, Matthew Baldwin, encourages young people to claim their space and hold decision-makers and policymakers accountable with regards to their promises and commitments. “Be determined, be strategic, keep pushing, and don’t take no for an answer.” 

From the session, the Youth Coalition was able to create a document that will help support the promotion of meaningful youth engagement in road safety and ensure follow-through of the commitments given by policymakers and decision-makers. 

DOWNLOAD RECOMMENDATION DOCUMENT

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety has recently launched a call for artists to participate in its upcoming #ClaimingOurSpace campaign! The Youth Coalition, along with YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, TotalEnergies Foundation, and Create 2030 are looking for artists to join an arts residency that supports young people’s voices in efforts to address road safety issues and help prevent road traffic injuries.

Art and Road Safety
The Youth Coalition is holding another art and road safety campaign following the previous Art for Road Safety campaign. The campaign, held last 2021 and featured artists from three countries in the African Region, was focused on using art to highlight the road safety challenges in each country. It also focused on getting more young people engaged and involved in road safety efforts through more creative and dynamic ways.

Through the campaign, the Youth Coalition seeks to shed light on the most pressing issues in the regions and countries where the campaign will be taking place. Through arts, youth leaders and artists will push to create a road safety message that sensitizes decision-makers about the importance of meaningfully engaging with youth in road safety.

The Youth Coalition is also looking to engage decision-makers at both local and global levels to use art as a conversation starter to present youth demands and relevant data about road safety. 

The #ClaimingOurSpace campaign
The #ClaimingOurSpace campaign is an art and road safety campaign that will gather local artists from six countries to use different mediums to tell their stories and share their ideas on road safety with the global community. The countries for the campaign would include; Argentina, Brazil, India, Jordan, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Through the artists, the campaign is looking to inspire the creation of different forms of artistic road safety expression from young leaders around the world. The contributions and submissions that will be gathered online will be combined to create six art pieces that showcase the realities youth face when it comes to the lack of road safety and sustainable mobility in the countries highlighted.

The art pieces will be presented in an exhibit at New York City during the High-Level Meeting on Road Safety happening in July 2022. Get the chance to have your artwork exhibited at the global level! Send us an application!

SEND AN APPLICATION FOR CALL FOR ARTISTS 

This Tuesday, 15 February, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety and the Global Youth Coalition with the European Commission are organizing an official side-event for Africa – Europe Week called Road Safety and Youth in Africa. The event will highlight the situation young people face on African roads. Representatives of the Youth Coalition will have a dialogue with high-level decision-makers from the European Union to bring these different issues to light. Meet the representatives and leaders joining the discussion!

JUTTA URPILAINEN, European Union 
Jutta Urpilainen is the Commissioner for International Partnerships. As European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Commissioner Urpilainen oversees the European Commission’s work on international cooperation and sustainable development. Before joining the Commission, she served as a Member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2019. In 2008, she became the first woman leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. 

ADINA VALEAN, European Union 
Adina Vălean is the European Commissioner for Transport. Before taking office on December 1st, 2019, she was a Member of the European Parliament for 12 years. As an MEP she served as the Chairwoman of ITRE Committee (2019), Chairwoman of ENVI Committee (2019), and as Vice-President of the European Parliament (2017). She was also a Member of the Romanian Parliament between 2004-2007. Commissioner Vălean holds a master’s degree in European Integration Studies.

DR. ETIENNE KRUG
World Health Organization
Dr. Etienne Krug is the Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. He leads global efforts to prevent violence and injuries to address social determinants of health. He oversees the development of inter-governmental resolutions and global reports, the implementation of multi-country development projects, and advocacy campaigns. 

DR. OMNIA EL OMRANI 
EU Youth Sounding Board
Dr. Omnia el Omrani is a member of the European Youth Sounding Members and is a medical doctor at Ain Shams University. She has led and contributed to a total of eight research publications in the Lancet Planetary Health, the Medical Teacher, and other distinguished journals. As an EU Youth Sounding Board member, she plays an advisory role to both Commissioner Urpilainen and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships. She is also a member of the Global Youth Coalition.

SIMON PATRICK OBI 
Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety 
Simon Patrick Obi is a Youth Leadership Board Member of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. He is a committed and passionate road safety advocate with more than six years of experience.  He has led and championed several interventions aimed at improving health, safety, and the environment. He also founded and serves as the executive director for GreenLight Initiative – a road safety organization based in Nigeria.

MATTHEW BALDWIN
European Commission
Matthew Baldwin is the Deputy Director-General and Transport Coordinator for Road Safety and Sustainable Mobility and the European Coordinator for Road Safety/Sustainable mobility of the European Commission. Matthew Baldwin has been Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility since 2016 and was appointed as European Coordinator for Road Safety and related aspects of Sustainable Mobility on 1 October 2018.

OLIVA NALWADDA
Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety 
Oliva Nalwadda is a young activist on a mission to recourse the traffic experiences of children and youth in Uganda and Africa, at large. She is the founder of UZIMA ARI, a youth-led organization working to empower young people to lead, advocate, and implement local actions geared towards achieving global health. She also serves as a youth leadership board member to the Youth Coalition.

LINDA NEKESA MASIBO, Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety
Linda Nekesa has a master’s degree in transportation sciences with a specialization in road safety in the global south. She is an official member of the Global Youth Coalition for road safety and serves as the regional leader for Europe. She has previously done an internship with the world resources institute supporting electric mobility research and road safety work in Africa. She is currently completing a local actions project supported by the coalition working on road safety education and awareness at Hasselt University. 

MOHAMED EISSA, International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations
Mohamed Eissa is a sixth-year medical student from Alexandria, Egypt. He currently works as the liaison officer of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) and a youth leadership board member of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. During his years of medical school, he discovered that his passion was not just for clinical medicine but also for public health and road safety.

MAXWELL CHANGOMBE, Restless Development
Maxwell Changombe currently works as the Programmes Coordinator for Restless Development Zimbabwe Hub. He is also leading a project called #GenEndIt Youth Ambassadors, a UNAIDS program that consists of diverse groups of young people leading the fight to end AIDS as a ‘global pandemic’ by the end of 2030. He believes that, given the platform and opportunity, young people can be the best drivers of achieving the 2030 Agenda.

ROBERT LISINGE, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Robert Tama Lisinge is the Chief of the Energy, Infrastructure and Services Section of the Private Sector Development and Finance Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). He holds a BSc degree in Civil Engineering and an MSc degree in Transportation Engineering. He also holds an MPhil and a degree of Doctor of Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.

Don’t miss the chance to catch our speakers all together! Sign up to join our event happening on Tuesday, 15 February at 14:00 CET! See you there!

REGISTER FOR OUR EVENT! 

YOURS – Youth for Road Safety through the Global Youth Coalition is leading an official side-event for Africa – Europe Week happening from the 14th to the 18 of February. The event, “Road Safety and Youth in Africa”, will gather youth leaders and high-level decision-makers to talk about the situation of African roads and how they affect young people and other road users. 

Youth and road safety
Every year, 1.3 million people die on the world’s roads with young people being one of the most affected. The global rate of road safety comes up to 18.2 per one hundred thousand. Per the same hundred thousand, the rate in Europe is 9.3 while in Africa it comes up to a staggering 26.6.

In the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety, young people from the African region expressed their distress over badly designed infrastructure that put pedestrians in dangerous situations and have increased the likelihood of motor vehicles getting involved in serious crashes. Another issue raised was the lack of basic education and awareness that produces drivers with a lack of training and knowledge on road safety. Further, the air pollution caused by unworthy vehicles makes it hard for communities to breathe.

The Youth Coalition will be represented by four youth leaders from the African region. These leaders include; Linda Nekesa Masibo from Kenya, Oliva Nalwadda from Uganda, Omnia el Omrani from Egypt, and Simon Patrick Obi from Nigeria. The leaders will voice out their experiences and situations they face when it comes to road safety.

The youth leaders will be sharing these updates with leaders from the European Union and, together, will produce solutions and provide clear set recommendations on how to improve road safety in the region. 

Africa – Europe Week 
Africa- Europe Week will gather stakeholders from the African and European regions to strengthen the partnership between the two continents. This will be accomplished through a series of events that lead up to the 6th African Union-European Union Summit.

The themes that would be discussed throughout the Week would include digital transformation, equitable green partnerships, health, and education. During the different dialogues, participants will present their recommendations to leaders from the African Union and the European Union.

The road safety and youth in Africa side event will touch on road safety and meaningful youth engagement in the African region. Don’t miss the conversation and the chance to share your opinions and ideas on the topic! 

Claim your space in the session by registering! 

REGISTER TO THE EVENT

YOURS – Youth for Road Safety through the Global Youth Coalition will be leading an official side-event during Africa-Europe Week as a lead-up to the 6th European Union-African Union Summit. The event, titled road safety and youth in Africa will shed light on the road safety experiences of young people in the region. The event will be streamed virtually on Tuesday, 15th February from 14:00 to 15:30 CET. Registration is now open.

Youth representation
The road safety and youth in Africa side-event will be an interactive dialogue between youth leaders from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety and high-level decision-makers from the African and European Union.

The Youth Coalition will be represented by Linda Nekesa Masibo from Kenya, Oliva Nalwadda from Uganda, Omnia el Omrani from Egypt, and Simon Patrick Obi from Nigeria. The objective of the session is to present the day-to-day challenges young people face in African roads, produce solutions, and provide recommendations on how to improve road safety for youth in Africa through meaningful youth participation.

The session will also address questions and inquiries posted by other young leaders through the registration process. Through the session, young leaders will be able to elevate their concerns and experiences to global leaders.

The event will be hosted by Nelufar Hedayat, British journalist and presenter who serves as a correspondent for Doha Debates.

Young people claiming their space 
Road safety and youth in Africa is one of the events happening during the Africa-Europe Week happening from the 14th to the 18th of February where European Union and African Union member states will meet. Leaders will discuss how the European and African continents can build greater prosperity and will aim to launch an African-Europe Investment Package to address the challenges discussed during the Week.

YOURS along with the EU-AU are ensuring that the voices of young leaders are represented during Africa-Europe Week. The ideas and opinions of youth will be put in the spotlight and high-level leaders will have the opportunity to hear about the situation on the ground from the people experiencing them on a daily basis.

Don’t miss the chance to engage with global decision-makers and to share your ideas and experiences on youth participation and road safety! Sign up to join our event!

During the Africa-Europe Week, happening from the 14th to the 18th of February, European Union leaders and African Union member states will meet in Brussels for the 6th European Union – African Union summit on 17 and 18 February 2022. In the run-up to the summit, YOURS will organize an interactive event together with the EU and AU. 

Through an intergenerational dialogue between youth leaders and high-level decision-makers from the African and the European Union, we will discuss the day-to-day challenges young people face on African roads,  produce solutions and provide a clear set of recommendations on how to improve road safety for youth in Africa.

Join us and be part of the discussion! Save the date for the 15th of February from 14:00 to 15:30 CET! 

The event will be hosted by Nelufar Hedayat. Keep tuned to our socials and website to get regular updates on some of the world leaders on road safety!

More information on the Africa-Europe Week
The first edition of the Africa-Europe week will be a key moment to bring together young people, civil society, and the private sector from Africa and Europe to discuss the aspects of the Africa-EU Partnership that matter to them the most.

Leaders attending the summit will discuss how the European and African continents can build greater prosperity and will also aim to launch an Africa-Europe Investment Package that takes into account global challenges such as climate change and the current public health crisis. 

The EU-AU Summit will also serve as a platform for a wide range of European and African non-state actors to actively contribute to the debates on a joint way forward for the AU-EU partnership. These actors will discuss strategic priorities for both continents and will offer opportunities for meaningful exchange among stakeholders and decision-makers in the margins of the EU-AU Summit. 

MORE DETAILS ABOUT AFRICA-EUROPE WEEK