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

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