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

The Public Health Association – Australia and World Health Organization have recently launched a call for abstracts for the q4th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety) happening from the 27th to the 30th of November 2022. The theme of the conference is “reconnection, reinvigorating, reimagining injury prevention” – this was chosen n the light of the pandemic and its effects on public health. We reproduced the article here:

We invite abstract submissions for oral presentations, rapid-fire and conversation starter at the 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety) 2022, convened by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Congress will be held in Adelaide, Australia from Sunday 27 November to Wednesday 30 November 2022.

The 2022 Congress theme is ‘Reconnecting, reinvigorating, reimagining Injury Prevention’.

This theme was chosen in light of the significant changes across the globe, the most obvious of these is COVID, however, we are also seeing changes to renewable energy, greater automation especially in automobiles and manufacturing, greater use of big data and artificial intelligence, the Black Lives Matter movements, Me Too movement, climate change, higher government debt, aging populations and much more.  These changes are going to transform the way we work in injury prevention and require us to reinvent, reinvigorate and reimagine injury prevention.

For injury prevention and safety promotion to be effective and create a safer future, engagement will be key; this will include engaging with communities, politicians, researchers, policymakers, people, and other stakeholders. While research is important for developing the evidence base there is an ongoing need for action to ensure appropriate evidence-based policy development, program delivery, increased funding, collaboration, and development of future generations of injury prevention experts for a safer future.

MORE DETAILS HERE

YOURS – Youth for Road Safety Capacity Development Director Manpreet Darroch and Senior Project Manager Iván Viquez Solórzano joined the ARTS x SDGs Online Festival held last Friday, 14 January, to talk about the role of arts and young people in achieving the targets identified in the Global Goals. The Festival brings together members of the growing creative economy with different agencies in support of the Sustainable Development Goals and was led by Create2030.

Art and young people
Kicking off the session, Manpreet talked about YOURS and the preventive road crash efforts it promotes, discusses, and implements to young people around the world. He also pointed out how art is an important tool to start and lead positive change in society. During the intervention, he discussed why road safety should be among the issues highlighted in the Global Agenda.

He began by talking about road safety through the youth movement kicked off during the 2^nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety, touching on how art played a huge role in how road safety was communicated not just among young people but also among partners and other stakeholders. This resulted in the creation of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety; a youth-led organization that utilizes the skills and creativity of young people to raise awareness and implement projects focused on road safety and sustainable mobility.

As an example of how the Youth Coalition brought together art and young people, Manpreet talked about the Art for Road Safety Campaign; a project that sought to change road safety behavior for the better and to empower young people to elevate discussions on road safety through artistic intervention.

#ClaimingOurSpace Campaign
YOURS Senior Project Manager, Iván, joined Manpreet during the session to talk about the next art campaign the Youth Coalition is leading; the #ClaimingOurSpace Campaign. The new campaign is a continuation of the previous art campaign that challenges young people to produce and reproduce artwork focused on road safety and sustainable mobility.

The goal of the campaign is to empower young people to demand and deliver road safety while also showcasing youth leadership and encouraging decision-makers to meaningfully engage with young people. 

The artists of the campaign will come from six countries; Argentina, Brazil, Jordan, India, South Africa, and Nigeria but will be open to the global youth. The campaign will gather the artists to produce road safety artwork for the challenge and will also be exhibited in New York during the High-Level Meeting on Road Safety happening in July. 

The exhibit will highlight the efforts of young people and the role of art in furthering road safety efforts worldwide.  

MORE ABOUT ART X SDGS ONLINE FESTIVAL 

8 January – the United Nations Youth Envoy released their annual report for 2021 that highlights the efforts of young leaders in helping achieve targets under different areas of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report discusses the efforts taken by the UN Youth Envoy under the leadership of Jayathma Wickramanayake to get closer to realizing the 2030 Agenda with and for young people. 

Informed and Healthy Foundations: UN Road Safety Agenda
Included in the priority areas is the UN Road Safety Agenda which falls under Informed and Healthy Foundations. The UN Youth Envoy acknowledges road crashes as one of the leading causes of death for young people globally, killing more than a thousand youth every day. It highlights that, despite the staggering number of deaths, young people’s rights to safety on the road are often overlooked.

Emphasized in the document is the support of the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Youth (OSGEY) have for the UN Road Safety Agenda particularly in advocating for young people’s rights and needs in the space to engage with youth networks and movements. The report also lists down road safety efforts that support the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Special Envoy for Road Safety.

The milestones that focused on having young people recognized in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, launched last October 2021 was also lauded as a great victory for youth around the world. The Plan puts focus on the role of youth in shaping the future transport system and encourages stakeholders to consult with youth and engage with them in a meaningful way.

Five Programme Priority Areas of Youth2030
The report lists down youth efforts according to priority areas. These reflect the three pillars of the United Nations, specifically, peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. It also includes humanitarian action which builds on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The five priority areas include; (1) Engagement, Participation, and Advocacy, (2) Informed and Healthy Foundations, (3) Economic Empowerment through Decent Work, (4) Youth and Human Rights, and (5) Peace and Resilience Building. Each area focuses on different areas of development under the global goals.

Achievements on crosscutting themes which include gender equality, climate action, innovation, and impact of all priority and foundational areas of Youth2030 were also listed. Different sessions, milestones, and efforts were identified that helped further the causes and results of the different themes.

The report concluded with the next steps for the year 2022. It writes “Youth2030 implementation will also continue to accelerate in 2022, including by working on priority areas of programming, through targeted outreach and technical support; building back better after COVID-19, with an equity focus; establishing a system-wide “youth-marker” to improve tracking of results and resources for youth in the UN” 

READ FULL UN YOUTH ENVOY REPORT 

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety is launching a call for proposals for Local Actions 2022! The Local Actions, initially launched last 2021, is a short-term or mid-term grassroots action plan oriented to address the most pressing road safety issues in a certain area or community. The call for proposals are open for official members of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety.
Students studying Traffic Engineering with a focus on road traffic safety, in their pre-exam period worked on a special road safety campaign project; shooting video and creating the preliminary design of posters.

Addressing road safety issues
Through Local Actions, the Coalition is inviting youth leaders to develop and implement original, impactful, and innovative projects to address the urgent needs and commitments outlined in the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety and the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.

The Coalition is supporting projects that prioritize community mobilization and awareness, advocacy, and peer-to-peer engagement. These priorities focus on engaging and empowering young people and other stakeholders to take action for road safety and sustainability, ensuring the continuity of the projects.

The Global Youth Statement highlights the reality young people face when it comes to road safety. Based on the voices and experiences of over 1,500 youth leaders from 75 countries, the Youth Statement identifies key issues in different regions as well as the commitments young people have made in order to address the issues identified.

The Youth Statement supports the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 which guides and outlines the role of different stakeholders in achieving the targets listed in the New Decade of Action for Road Safety.

The Coalition is supporting projects that prioritize community mobilization and awareness, advocacy, and peer-to-peer engagement. These priorities focus on engaging and empowering young people and other stakeholders to take action for road safety and sustainability, ensuring the continuity of the projects.

Implementing the project
The Local Action project must be created, led, and conceived by young leaders. Following the guidelines, the applicants need to have conducted a Youth Consultation so that the issue that they plan to address reflects the needs of young people in the area.

Winners of the project will receive support from the Coalition in the form of seed funding, project plans, mentorship, and more. The winners and their teams will be guided throughout the 12-month implementation. The previous call for proposals saw twelve projects funded.

Get the chance to lead your own project by sending us a proposal! The call is exclusive to official members of the Global Youth Coalition, so make sure you join! Head to our website for more details!

MORE ABOUT LOCAL ACTIONS