YOURS – Youth for Road Safety is looking for a project manager to help support the strategic ambitions of the organization. The Project Manager is responsible for coordinating the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, in collaboration with the YOURS team and following the organizational principles, vision, and mission.

About our work
YOURS is a global organization that acts to make the world’s roads safe for and with youth. Road crashes are the leading killer of young people. Everyday 1000 youth aged 15-29 are dying on the world’s roads and youth are saying enough is enough. 

We are experts in youth and road safety issues and advocate for sustainable mobility at the highest levels of decision-making. We believe in meaningful youth participation as a key strategy to change these statistics. With strategic global advocacy and empowering youth locally, we will unlock a global revolution for road safety and make this generation the last one facing this massive public health threat.

We are a small team with big ideas and powerful allies. We are proud of our work and have loads of fun while doing it. 

Roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager
The Project Manager will have the overall responsibility for successfully implementing the project within the approved project plan. The duties of the project manager include; developing and updating project plans to new developments, managing the implementation of required activities, establishing solid working relationships within the YOURS team, young leaders, donors, and other project stakeholders, and more. 

The project manager will work under the leadership and support of the advocacy director. Together they will map and design strategies to lead and attend the most significant events where youth can advocate and raise awareness about road safety and sustainable mobility through meaningful youth participation mechanisms. 

Read the full list of terms and references by clicking “more about the position”. 

Closing date is on November 15, 2021

MORE ABOUT THE POSITION 

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety along with FIA Foundation is leading a workshop during the UN Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY16) which connects road safety with transport decarbonization. The workshop, titled “Connecting the biggest killer of youth and transport decarbonization” will be held virtually this coming Friday, 29 October, at 3 pm BST or 4 pm CET on COY’s digital platform.

The Conference on Youth COY16 is an event under the banner of YOUNGO – the Official Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It provides young people with opportunities for capacity building and policy training as a form of preparation for COP26. The conference gathers youth from around the world to raise their voices and bring them to the UN Climate Negotiations. For the first time, road safety and sustainable transport are given a focus. 

The workshop will reiterate points on how transportation and mobility connect with climate by focusing on transport decarbonization. Decarbonization is the reduction of carbon which will result in more efficient consumption of energy. Thus, in turn, will support the creation of cleaner, healthier, and more livable cities. 

Speakers of the workshop will also explain how an equitable transport system will maximize the physical and mental health benefits for local and global communities. They will also demonstrate the link between decarbonized transport, road safety, and minimizing pollution. 

Key outcomes
The workshop will equip participants with key data and policy requests to use with government representatives and stakeholders at the Conference of Parties (COP26). This will help them advocate for the safety and inclusiveness of transport decarbonization in climate change mitigation and agenda adaptation through meaningful youth engagement. 

COY16 will run from the 28th to the 31st of October. The second day will feature workshops on politics and policymaking, partners, goals and youth activism, climate finance, climate justice, human rights & wellbeing, mobility & transport, climate change future scenarios, and wildlife & environment conservation. 

REGISTER TO THE WORKSHOP 

Global Youth Coalition Youth Leadership Board member, Deepanshu Gupta (India), joins the launch of the Global Plan led by the World Health Organization. The launch, happening on Thursday, October 28 at 2 pm CET, will feature global road safety leaders who will highlight the “what to dos”, “how to dos”, and “whos” of road safety and the Global Plan. Read about how Deepanshu is involved in road safety and the role of the Decade of Action and the Global Plan in his efforts to further road safety and sustainable mobility.

1. How did you get involved with road safety? 
Seven years back, my father was badly injured in a road crash. The crash was so bad that he was on complete bed rest for almost 18 months. It’s still very excruciating for my family and myself to recall the emotional and financial trauma we went through. After that, I met a group of students who have also lost friends to road crashes. They were running some road safety awareness programs as a way to influence youth to become forerunners in road safety efforts. I started volunteering with them to start educating people. I also rallied behind policymakers to prioritize road safety actions. After my graduation, I worked at a human capital consulting firm as an associate for four months before I left to pursue road safety full time. Since then, there has been no looking back.

2. Do you think decision-makers are prioritizing road safety in their agendas?
Although the importance of road safety is recognized, I believe it still isn’t a top priority on their agendas. Many people work in road safety but at the end of the day, it’s a systemic issue and individual interventions can only go so far. There is a critical need for initiatives that are not only high-prioritized but also transparent and upfront to the public. Policies must be examined once they have been implemented and errors must be corrected. 

The fact that the number of fatalities, which exceeds a million per year, has remained unchanged for the past two decades indicates that it is vital for decision-makers to address these concerns. The burden of road traffic injuries on families, states, and nations is something that should motivate decision-makers to prioritize road safety. There are young people out there who are passionate about this cause; local decision-makers should involve them in a meaningful way. The energy and the enthusiasm that youth can bring to this movement can definitely improve the situation.

3. What do you think is the role of the Decade of Action and the Global Plan in implementing road safety and sustainable mobility plans and policies?
The Decade of Action establishes an impact-oriented aim. The target of a 50% reduction in road traffic fatalities by 2030 is a paradigm shift that guides us to how we need to approach development. The Safe Systems approach acknowledges the possibility of human error which is a welcome addition to previous systems that focused on vehicles and infrastructure. The Global Plan brings everyone together under one roof, coordinating all initiatives that may otherwise be carried out in isolation. It emphasizes the importance of looking at multimodal types of infrastructure development in poor and middle-income nations, as well as fostering international development collaborations.

4. What do you think young people can do to achieve the targets set in the Decade of Action for Road Safety? 
At a point when 73% of road crash mortality falls under the age group of 25, young people have a two-fold role in achieving the targets of the Decade Action Plan. Firstly, in order to reduce road crash mortality by 50%, youth need to actively reform their driving and pedestrian practices while also engaging in post-crash rescue and trauma care. One needs to increasingly reinvent their role as a responsible citizen to facilitate safer roads for all.

Secondly, given that the developing countries are particularly more vulnerable to road crashes and mortality owing to lower levels of income and development, youth can play an active role in lobbying for better, well-informed legislation by educating their peers and raising road safety awareness for the public. Youth can also form or join civil societies and collaborate with similar organizations to convince the state to actively invest in road safety. Spreading information about safe and sustainable transport and good pedestrian practices at grassroots levels can immensely contribute to the achievement of the targets in the New Decade.

5. What do you think youth can contribute to the Global Plan? 
Since young people constitute the generation that will bear the brunt of uninformed laws and transportation reforms, they need to be actively involved in all reformation drives. Their needs, ideas, and demands need to be gathered and incorporated into laws and transportation structures. There needs to be a genuine effort to engage with young leaders and provide platforms for fresh perspectives. Apart from personally adopting safer transportation practices, youth are instrumental in holding grassroots-level awareness campaigns. They can also empower common people by collaborating with non-profit organizations and lobbying for better laws and overall state performances in enforcement and engineering. Most importantly, local decision-makers should see them as crucial stakeholders in decision-making and implementation.

6. How do you think the Global Plan or the Decade of Action for Road Safety connects with the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety? 
Some of the primary points in the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety are the exclusion of youth as a major stakeholder in decision making, lack of education and awareness, and poorly designed policies and road infrastructure. The Global Plan, which encapsulates the core ideals of the New Decade of Action for Road Safety, has been instrumental in addressing these concerns. By calling for youth involvement in decision-making and by creating tools and opportunities to reach out to governments, the Global Plan recognizes the valuable contributions youth can make in the reform of the transportation agenda. The Plan emphasizes the role of civil societies and governments in spreading awareness regarding safer transit practices. Most importantly, it calls upon policymakers to explore the intersection of gender and social justice within transportation reforms to point out that informed policies are the key to bringing out changes on the ground.

7. What is your message for decision-makers and to young people around the following the launch of the global plan? 
To the youth, let’s keep claiming our space on all levels. Organize youth consultations, hold meetings with local decision-makers right after the launch of the Global Plan and find a meaningful way to engage with stakeholders. Use the Global Plan as a catalyst to prioritize youth action in road safety. Get involved and involve other fellow young people.

To the decision-makers, it’s high time to realize that meaningful youth engagement in road safety can actually bring down road crashes and save lives. Let’s not wait for the next five Global Plans and millions of other fatalities until you start believing in youth. Let’s go above and beyond the global plan and save lives.

READ THE GLOBAL PLAN       REGISTER TO LAUNCH OF GLOBAL PLAN

Earlier last week, October 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Global Plan for the Decade of Action 2021-2030. The Global Plan describes what is needed to achieve the road safety targets listed under the Decade of Action for Road Safety. It also calls on governments and partners to implement and integrate the Safe Systems Approach in the creation and implementation of strategies on road safety, sustainable mobility, and urban design.

Young people and the Global Plan
The Global Plan is for inspiring national and local governments and stakeholders who have the ability to influence road safety. These would include civil societies, academia, private sectors, donors, communities, and youth leaders as they develop national and local action plans and targets for the Decade of Action.

The Global Plan writes that young people have a big role to play in the achievement of the road safety targets by 2030. It emphasizes that there are two key reasons why young people have an important role in shaping the future transport system; first, they are the age group most affected by road crashes, and second. They are the generation that will inherit the outcomes of decisions.

According to the Plan, young people need to be consulted about their needs as they have the capacity to generate ideas on how to protect their peers and other vulnerable road users. Through resources, capacity development, and other opportunities, young people can also shape the road safety and mobility system in local and, eventually, global settings. 

“Meaningful engagement with young leaders can help foster greater ownership of the road safety issues as well as develop a new cohort of road safety advocates with a fresh perspective on the future of mobility.” 

The Safe Systems Approach 
The Global Plan seeks to integrate all elements of the Safe Systems Approach to address global road safety and mobility issues and to halve the number. These include multimodal transport and land-use planning, safe road infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe road use, and post-crash response. 

The Safe Systems Approach – a core feature of the Decade of Action – recognizes that road safety is a complex system that places safety at its core. It recognizes that humans, vehicles, and road infrastructure need to interact in a way that would ensure the highest level of safety. 

The plan prioritizes and implements the Safe Systems approach that positions road safety as a key driver of sustainable development. In order to successfully implement the Safe Systems approach, all stakeholders must be meaningfully involved and engaged. Young people, who make up a large part of the population, are taking action to address road safety concerns around the world through the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. Take part today!

JOIN THE GLOBAL YOUTH COALITION     

READ GLOBAL PLAN 

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 1.35 million people die every year with 20 to 50 million more being injured because of road crashes. Young people aged 15-29 are the most affected with more than half of road traffic deaths happening to vulnerable road users which include pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. To address this, WHO released the first Decade of Action for Road Safety in May 2011 for the years 2011 – 2020.

The First Decade of Action
The first Decade of Action for Road Safety was officially proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The overall goal of the first Decade was to stabilize and reduce the number of road traffic fatalities by 2020 as presented under General Assembly Resolution 64/233 and under the Sustainable Development Goals as SDG 3.6. 

To achieve the goal under the Decade of Action, WHO and the UN in collaboration with the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) and other stakeholders prepared a Plan of Action for the Decade to serve as a guiding document to support the implementation of the Decade’s objectives.

The global plan of action was guided by five pillars; road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users, and post-crash response. The plan focuses on the ways to prevent road crashes from ever happening. Among the best practices recorded include speed reduction efforts, using seatbelts, child restraints, and helmets, laws against drinking and driving, safer vehicles on the road, and pre-hospital and trauma care.

In the UN Progress Report of Goal 3 in 2019, it was revealed that, despite the global plan and the efforts of partner organizations and member states, the goal to halve the number of fatalities on the road would be difficult to achieve by 2020.

The New Decade of Action 
During the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held last February 2020, seventy ministers and 1,700 delegates from around the world assessed the First Decade. The Conference produced the Stockholm Declaration – a forward-looking document that connects road safety to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes targets centered around road safety.

In September 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/74/299 otherwise known as “Improving Global Road Safety”, proclaiming the New Decade of Action for Road Safety set for 2021 – 2030. The new Decade reaffirms the commitment to work tirelessly for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and extends the road safety target of halving the number of road-related fatalities from 2020 to 2030.

The Decade emphasizes the role of the UNRSC as a consultative mechanism to facilitate international road safety cooperation and urges stakeholders to begin or continue working toward the achievement of the Decade’s target. WHO and the UN regional commissions in partnership with the UNRSC have developed a Global Plan for the Decade of Action to be released in October 2021.

Youth and the Decade of Action
The Decade of Action for Road Safety names young people as supporters who can help achieve the target of reducing road fatalities. The first Decade invites young people to serve as ambassadors for road safety, to join youth assemblies, and ensure the safety of roads around schools.

The new Decade encourages member states, especially young people, to promote road safety knowledge and awareness through education, training, and publicity campaigns to propagate good road safety practices in the community. The document also emphasizes that youth are the most vulnerable road users and that member states should implement road safety policies that will protect young people from road-related deaths and injuries. 

“Is there any group better placed to act as role models, lead peer education, raise awareness, mobilize communities and advocate for change?” – Floor Lieshout 

Young people claiming their space 
During the 2nd World Youth Assembly, youth of the world say enough is enough! Through Global Youth Statement for Road Safety, a document created through the global youth consultations that echo young people’s demands for commitments for road safety and sustainable mobility, young people are claiming their space and are taking action to end the loss of lives on the world’s roads. 

“We (youth) have been seen as ‘problematic road users’ – as the group in society that is reckless, takes risks, and overestimates their abilities. Why then are young people more likely to die in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries? It is the unsafe mobility system that is failing us. Stop blaming, start protecting and engaging us”  

Today, the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety has nearly 700 members from over a hundred countries around the world. The Coalition offers its members support in the form of resources, capacity development, and partnerships to empower them to take action on road safety and sustainable mobility in their communities and regions. 

In her statement during the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, Omnia El Omrani, co-chairperson to the 2nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety, told global ministers “It’s time to stop killing our dreams! We, as young people, have seen and felt the devastating impact of road crashes on our families, friends, and communities. Today, we are claiming our space at the decision-making table. We will no longer accept being marginalized. We ask that you start treating young people as equal partners for the global goals for safe mobility.” 

Raquel Barrios, Project Manager of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, also expressed during the Ministerial how world leaders have failed young people in efforts to address road safety during the First Decade of Action. 

“We want to be the last generation facing this global mobility crisis. It’s time to wake up! Strong political will and moral responsibility are crucial. And to be honest, at this point, many of us have lost all belief in our decision-makers to lead the change. You may not have been part of the decisions made in the past but you have the power to act today and tomorrow. And we, the youth, will also play our part as active citizens in society. We want to be part of the solution as equal partners” 

What happens now?
On 28 October 2021, the World Health Organization will launch the Global Plan for the new Decade of Action for Road Safety. The document will guide member states and other stakeholders on how to take action and achieve the targets listed in the new Decade.

Through the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, we are empowering young people to address road safety and sustainable mobility issues in their areas. The Coalition is also creating and fighting for spaces where young people can be meaningfully involved and engaged when it comes to local and global policy-making and decision-making strategies.

The launch of the Global Plan will support the Global Youth Statement and help empower youth to make impactful changes for road safety in their communities. Find out how you can get involved with youth-led road safety efforts, join the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety today! 

JOIN THE GLOBAL YOUTH COALITION FOR ROAD SAFETY

We are delighted to announce that the FIA Foundation has partnered with YOURS – Youth for Road Safety and the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety (the Coalition) to bolster global youth advocacy. With this new 3-year partnership (2021-2023), we aim to elevate youth leadership in the road safety agenda and arm young people with the tools to hold decision-makers to account.

With over 640 members from 101 different countries, the Coalition empowers young people by equipping them with resources, skills, partnerships, and opportunities to take action on road safety and mobility issues within their communities, countries and globally. 

The FIA Foundation through its Child Health Initiative puts child and youth rights at the core of their work. The safe and healthy journeys mission, central to its Adolescents 2030 advocacy,  aims to place safe environments and young people at the heart of the international adolescent and youth agenda and amplify the voices of youth worldwide. 

The anchor for the FIA Foundation’s youth engagement will be the Global Youth Coalition, with a focus on enhancing meaningful youth participation globally and mainstreaming the safe mobility agenda. 

FIA Foundation Executive Director Saul Billingsley said: “The FIA Foundation Advocacy Hub is supporting our coalition of partners to help deliver the policy changes to deliver streets for all, including young people who are more likely to be killed by vehicles than any other cause from the ages of five to 29. We are pleased to support YOURS, through the Global Youth Coalition, to engage and amplify the voices of global youth in the safe mobility agenda.”

The partnership between the Youth Coalition and FIA Foundation will invest and support the Coalition’s work to empower young people across the globe in leading youth-driven and youth-focused advocacy efforts aimed at enhancing and promoting youth leadership. 

FIA Foundation joins as a partner specifically on advocacy alongside the Coalition’s programme partners which include TotalEnergies Foundation and Michelin Corporate Foundation. 

On the partnership, Floor Lieshout, Executive Director of YOURS – Youth for Road Safety said: 

“ FIA Foundation and YOURS have been working together for almost 10 years on a wide range of projects and UN Global Road Safety Weeks. Today  I am proud to welcome them as a new partner of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. Together we will support a new generation of road safety advocates and offer them opportunities to demand road safety.”