Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety: Application Call

Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety: Application Call

by | Nov 10, 2023 | News & Blog

The Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety, set up in the name of Mr Nelson Mandela’s young grandaughter who passed away in a trafic road crash, is calling for applications for its scholarship. The applications are open for young South African young people who have illustrated leadership in road safety.

 

As a key part of the Scholarship Programme and to contribute to the objectives of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety has been launched.

About the Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety

The Scholarship is an initiative which contributes to the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. The Decade itself has been agreed by the UN General Assembly and aims to ‘stabilize and reduce’ the growing number of road fatalities and injuries around the world. Road crashes are already the number one killer of young people aged over 10 worldwide. The Commission for Global Road Safety is calling for a focus on the protection of children and young people.

Visit www.decadeofaction.org and www.makeroadssafe.org

The Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety has been established as a fitting tribute to a young girl who clearly embodied a love of learning, and who relished the opportunities which her education was giving her. It would reflect the ethos and values of the Mandela family and Nelson Mandela Foundation in helping young people make a difference to their own communities and society as a whole.

It has been set up to inspire the young leaders of South Africa to join a global movement as represented by the UN Decade of Action, which aims to save millions of lives over the next 10 years. The purpose of the Scholarship would be to offer young South Africans the opportunity to learn with and from other talented professionals from around the world with the common aim of improving road safety for communities in their home countries.

On an annual basis between 12-14 Scholars from around the world take part in the FIA Foundation Scholarship programme. This initiative helps to build capacity and leadership in road safety particularly in developing and emerging economies. The Zenani Mandela Scholarship would exclusively support a candidate from South Africa, to help develop their expertise in all key aspects of road safety management and policy making.

The Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety is a joint initiative of the FIA Foundation, Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Department of Transport, Republic of South Africa.

www.fiafoundation.org
www.nelsonmandela.org
www.transport.gov.za

As part of the FIA Foundation Scholarship Programme, the Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety will be held in London, UK from 3-15 July 2011.

Final call for applications

Applications for the Zenani Mandela Scholarship for Road Safety have been received since the initiative was launched in London on 12 April 2011.

Deadline:
The final deadline for applications is 17.00 on 3 June 2011.

Interviews will be held on 8 June. Telephone interviews may apply.

Applications are open to South African nationals who are working to improve road safety in South Africa. Criteria for applications, in line with the wider FIA Foundation Road Safety Scholarship Programme are outlined below.

 

2011 Road Safety Scholarship Programme, selection criteria

The FIA Foundation Road Safety Scholarship Programme brings together talented young professionals from around the globe for a two-week intensive course on road safety policy and promotion in July each year. The key objectives of the Scholarship are to:

  • Recruit outstanding individuals who will make a future impact on road safety in their countries;
  • Develop their understanding of the management of road safety and equip them with strategies for promoting safer roads, safer vehicles and safer road user behaviour; 
  • Build an international network of young professionals committed to road safety.

The Road Safety Scholarship Programme is aimed at individuals currently working to make roads safe in their countries. The course is based primarily in London, with visits to specialist facilities and local road safety authorities. The programme includes:

  • An introduction to the ‘Systems Approach’ to Road Safety Management
  • An overview of the role of international organisations in promoting and regulating road safety
  • Visits demonstrating safe road design and local authority partnership programmes. 
  • Information on vehicle safety standards, driver training and education
  • Seminars with the Road Police exploring issues of enforcement, data collection and training
  • An introduction to the UK Department for Transport’s policy development and campaigns
  • Sessions on sustaining political support and effective campaigning on road safety issues
  • A group exercise on devising and implementing a national road safety strategy.

The course is guided by Kate McMahon, former Head of Road Safety Research in the UK Department for Transport, with the participation of FIA Foundation staff and other experts.

Road Safety Scholars must be agents of change – people able to make a substantial impact on the development of road safety in their countries. The FIA Foundation selects participants following receipt of applications, and decisions by the Foundation are final. Successful candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds, including motoring organisations, central or local government, economic development, campaigning organisations or the NGO sector. Other criteria for suitability are:  

  • A demonstrable commitment to improving road safety: Applicants must be able to demonstrate a track record of activity and a passion to promote safer roads.
  • The ability to implement change in their countries: Successful candidates must be able to influence the development of public policy on road safety.
  • English language proficiency: The course is conducted in English, so proficiency is essential.
  • Experience: Candidates should have work experience in a relevant field, and MUST be in relevant employment at the time of application. 
  • Clear vision and motivation: They must have a clear vision of the need to improve road safety in their countries and a desire to implement change.
  • Would use the training productively: Candidates should have proposals on how, in their own work, they hope to use their scholarship experience to improve road safety practice. 
  • Team players: Scholars must be team players with a desire to work with and learn from others.
  • Good presentation skills: Candidates should be confident in speaking and presenting arguments.
  • Computer literacy: Basic IT skills and an ability to communicate by email are essential.

Scholars present their own ‘Action Plan for Safe Roads’ to an expert panel of the FIA Foundation at the end of the Programme, and are awarded a certificate of achievement upon completing the course. FIA Foundation Scholars become part of an active international network of road safety campaigners. See our Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/FIAFScholarship

Applications contact and further details

Please send a full CV and cover letter explaining how you meet the criteria.

Contact:

Ms. Nomsa Mtshwene
Director Provincial Assistance :TRPO
Department of Transport, Republic of South Africa
Tel: (012) 309 3125
Fax:(012) 323 8365
Cell: 082 882 7273
Email: mtshwenn@dot.gov.za

FIA Foundation Scholarship contact:

Emma MacLennan
Organiser, FIA Foundation Road Safety Scholarships
scholarship@fiafoundation.org

Our Future Mobility Now

Our Future Mobility Now

by | Nov 10, 2023 | News & Blog

YOURS would like to announce a great opportunity for youth to direcly engage with the CEO´s of the European car manufacturers on how they see their future mobility needs. It is a unique opportunity to help shape tomorrow´s safer world.

Join “Our Future Mobility Now”
How will we live, work and play in the future? How can we make transport even safer, more comfortable, sustainable and enjoyable? Communications technology is helping us stay always on, always connected, and always social. But how will our digital lifestyles shape reality on the move?

These and other questions are the focus of Our Future Mobility Now – an exciting project about the future of mobility, hosted by the automobile manufacturers in Europe and aiming specifically for a dialogue with young adults living in Europe.

On-line competition
Are you between 18 and 30 years old and living in Europe? Join the Idea Labs in Brussels: become a special delegate and receive and invitation to the exclusive workshops & master class on 22 & 23 June with trend watchers, engineers, leading managers and other experts. You can register until 31 May at www.futuremobilitynow.com;

Engage!
Do you want to have your say and engage specifically with industry leaders and decision makers? Come to Autoworld Museum in the afternoon of 23 June for the interactive VIP debate. This will not be the ‘usual’ policy conference; it’s a unique opportunity to help shape tomorrow’s world. Registration will open shortly at www.futuremobilitynow.com;

Have a taste
Would you like to try out the latest concepts in connectivity and mobility? Visit the Special Exhibition from 22 – 25 June and discover the road to the future in Autoworld Museum; and get started.
If you’d like to be involved, simply head over to www.futuremobilitynow.com
Spotlight on: The Suraya Foundation – Dubai

Spotlight on: The Suraya Foundation – Dubai

by | Nov 10, 2023 | News & Blog

This month, YOURS features Suraya Foundation,non-profit road safety organization based in Dubai focussing on preventing reckless driving amongst young people and the general public. The Suraya Foundation have partnered with educators, the media, the creative community and families who have been affected by tragic accidents to help spread the awareness of safe driving and educating the community on how safe driving can save lives.

The founder of The Suraya Foundation, Mohd Shahnawaz, knows firsthand what it is like to lose a loved one due to a reckless driving accident. His younger sister Suraya (read her story) was killed in a hit and run accident in March 2009. In honor of her memory, he has made it his goal to spread awareness on the dangers of reckless driving.

By spreading emotionally compelling messages through awareness campaigns and mass media, the Suraya Foundation is hoping to change the attitudes of unsafe drivers and get them to adopt safer driving principles. Thus, their motto is: “Safe Driving, Saves Lives” 

 

Vision

We hope to make ourselves redundant by instilling safe driving principles on drivers. Our vision is to make roads one of safest means of transportation in Dubai, UAE. We aim to reduce the rate of accidents due to reckless driving and help Dubai government’s drive to reduce road traffic accident deaths to zero by 2020.

 

Campaigns

“Are You Reckless?” – A radio public service ad as well as a print campaign aimed at getting drivers to question their driving habits. Watch the ad now and SHARE it with friends and families

The Oath Project ― a vow encouraging everyone to take the challenge of being a safer driver. If you believe that you’re a safe driver, take the oath.

“What is Really Killing People in the Gulf?” ― an infograph highlighting the extent of the problem of road accidents within the Gulf region. Have a look at the infograph & please share it with other drivers.

Report: YOURS launched the Decade of Action in Canada

Report: YOURS launched the Decade of Action in Canada

by | Nov 10, 2023 | News & Blog

13 May 2011 YOURS launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in Toronto, Canada. 450 Teenagers from all over Canada came together for the National Youth Leadership Conference organized by OSAID. Read all about it below..

It was a memorable day in Toronto, Canada. Around 10:00 YOURS took the stage and had the honor to launch the Decade of Action with 450 teenagers coming from all parts of Canada. There was so much energy in the room it was for the YOURS team a real treat to work. First Floor Lieshout introduced the story around the birth of YOURS and how we got started. What motivated us to get into road safety and above all Floor presented the terrible statistics worldwide. More than 400.000 young people die every year on the world´s roads and the Decade of Action must be the turning point. He explained that the Decade of Action is from everybody and we all have a role to play: governments, private sector, NGO´s and ofcourse the young people as well. Floor said: “It is a global crisis we are facing and it needs a global solution. We are in this together.”

Member of the YOURS´ Youth Taskforce Ousman Conteh from the Gambia followed Floor on the stage. A lot of the youth participants had no idea how bad the situation is on the African roads. Coming from The Gambia, Ousman presented the needs and challenges Africa is facing. In his presentation he showed photos about the bad infrastructure young people have to use to go to school or to work. Everyday they are at risk to get clean drinking water, or just to visit friends and family. He called for action and made the audience aware about the road safety situation. Ousman said: “while we only have 2% of all registered motor vehicles, Africa is suffering from 20% of all road deaths. This needs to end”.

Manpreet Darroch, the Communication Officer of YOURS, had the last word during this session. He shared his experiences when he came back to the UK after the 2007 UN World Youth Assembly and wanted to do something about road safety. He created his own campaign called Tune into Traffic with no budget at all. Manpreet thought about where he was good at and with the help from many the campaign grew and grew. BBC Channel 4 picked up the message and made a documentary about his campaign, with the result Tune into Traffic reached the national public. Manpreet explained the challenges he faced and how he overwon them. He truly inspired the audience and gave valuable top tips when you start a campaign.

Finally all the participants agreed on 3 things for the Decade of Action: First they showed they were committed to the Decade of Action (see photo below). Secondly, they promised to serve as role models in traffic and thirdly they will advocate at their local community for more road safety. YOURS would like to thank the organization and above all the youth participants for their energy and a great conference!

Young people hold their tags in the air while the Decade of Action logo is projected in the theatre.

Introducing Steve: An animation for Road Safety for the Decade of Action!

Introducing Steve: An animation for Road Safety for the Decade of Action!

by | Nov 9, 2023 | News & Blog

Allow YOURS to introduce you to Steve, a quirky, lively and poignant animation was developed through discussions at the First Regional Youth Assembly for Road Safety in Oman in February 2011. Deaths due to road crash injuries is the number one killer of youth between 15 and 29 years old.


“STEVE” Steps Out to End Deaths on the Roads
New Animation Campaign Exposes the Hidden Dangers on the Roads Which Kills 3,000 Everyday

On 11May 2011, at the launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) and YOURS – Youth for Road Safety have initiated an innovative campaign to build awareness and end death and injuries on the roads.

“It was clear the way have been communicating our message on road safety wasn’t reaching the people most affected by this disaster,” said Nellie Ghusayni, progamme officer at YOURS. “We need to go where people, especially the young people, were getting their information and tailor the format of the messages so it’s appealing to them. A fresh take on the subject using video seems to be the best way to capture their interest and get the youth involved.”

Under the creative direction of Mark Woodward from Airspace Studios, STEVE was born. The animation video project aims to give the viewers a different perspective on road safety by focusing on the hidden danger on the roads.

“Just over 100 years ago mankind introduced a new form of transport to the world, and with every car comes enough energy to kill,” says Andrew Pearce, Chief Executive of GRSP. “But humans cannot sense this energy until it’s too late. We hope STEVE can shed an important light for everyone and energize people to take action. Everyone can make a valuable contribution in helping to solve this man-made disaster.”

Roads, human’s greatest conduits for progress and communication, are also the stages for great human tragedy. Someone dies on the road every 30 seconds bringing the annual number of deaths to approximately 1,3 million – or ten aricraft crashes every day. The people dying are likely to be young and previously perfectly healthy – perhaps a bread-winner, a husband, a mother, a daughter or a son. The economic burden of the global carnage on the roads is a staggering $ 500 billion worldwide.

Every year more than 50 million people are injured by road crashes, many of those disabled permanently. Almost half of those who die in road traffic crashes are vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists. The goal of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety is to stabilize and then reduce the number of lives lost.

The Global Road Safety Partnership works to prevent road crash death and injury in low- and middle-income countries by working to implement effective solutions in partnership with business, government and civil society organizations. A hosted project of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, based in Geneva, Switzerland, GRSP’s vision is a world free of road-crash death and injury. www.GRSProadsafety.org

YOURS – Youth for Road Safety is the first global youth led nongovernmental organization acting to make the world’s roads safe for young people. YOURS operates on three pillars: advocating for youth and road safety on the global level, inspiring, connecting, and uniting youth around the world, and developing capacities of young people to become road safety advocates and implement road safety projects www.youthforroadsafety.org

Download the Press Release and share!

YOURS releases new poster series for Decade of Action

YOURS releases new poster series for Decade of Action

by | Nov 9, 2023 | News & Blog

YOURS has released a fresh new and exciting poster series for people to use during the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The poster series is one of a series of tools that YOURS is releasing during the Decade of Action to equip young people with road safety awareness tools to save lives on the road.

Together we can save millions of young lives on the world’s roads

Ten days before the launch of the first-ever Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, the global youth organization for road safety, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety, is releasing a free poster series for young people around the world to raise awareness about key risks on the roads.

Globally road traffic crashes are the biggest killer of young people aged 15-29 years. Every year more than 400,000 young people are killed and millions more are injured on the roads. In ten years, the World Health Organization predicts that this figure could rise significantly without increased action. The Decade of Action, officially proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2010 and supported by more than 60 governments, provides a unique opportunity for long-term action that can save millions of lives.

The poster series called the ‘Surreal Posters’ take a unique approach. They depict drivers, cyclists and pedestrians in five situations that illustrate their vulnerability on the road when failing to take simple precautionary measures. They focus on the consequences of failing to use seat-belts and helmets, drinking and driving, speeding and not being visible when walking or cycling on the road. The posters will be distributed worldwide through YOURS’ massive global youth network for road safety and will be exhibited in places of prominence so young people can get the road safety message and be aware of what they need to do to be safe on the road wherever they are.

Floor Lieshout, Director of YOURS said: “These posters are just one tool that YOURS is employing to make young people aware of the dangers of the road. We as young people are the most vulnerable road users in the world. That´s why it is our responsibility as emerging young leaders to stand up and do our part in behaving responsibly and demanding our safety on the world’s roads”.

Dr Etienne Krug, Director of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability at the World Health Organization said: “The Decade of Action for  Road Safety 2011-2020  offers the political platform needed to scale up some well-defined measures which could do much to keep young people safe on the roads. Evidence tells us that these measures work, and could save millions of lives.”

In conclusion, our efforts alone do not suffice. We call upon all stakeholders: our parents and guardians, leaders in the schools and communities where we learn and live, policy-makers in governments around the world, heads of private companies, representatives of the media and the entertainment sector and celebrities to take responsibility and work together with us in making the world’s roads safe for young people.

The five posters are available to download free here.