The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is inviting YOUNGO – the official youth constituency at the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other youth organizations – to join the ECOSOC Youth Forum that will be held virtually on 7 and 8 April 2021. Upon registering, applicants will be contacted by the end of March 2021 for updates on the event. 

About the Youth Forum
The ECOSOC Youth Forum provides young people with a platform to connect and converse with Member States and other young leaders around the world to discuss possible solutions to the challenges affecting youth-wellbeing. The Forum will provide a unique space for young people to share their vision and actions on the implementation of the global goals identified in the 2030 agenda.

Consideration will also be given to the group of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) decided by Member States for in-depth discussions at the 2021 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), specifically SDGs 1: No poverty, SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption, SDG 13: Climate action, SDG 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.

The discussion in the Forum will be guided by the overall theme for the ECOSOC HLPF on sustainable development which is “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, that promotes the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: Building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery of sustainable development”.

The Forum is organized by the UN Department of Economic Affairs (UNDESA) in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth (OSGEY), Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), and International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO) along with the assistance of the partners in the UN system.

Source: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/content/ecosoc-youth-forum-2021

The 2030 Agenda and road safety
Last year, the United Nations declared the years 2021-2030 as the new Decade of Action for Road Safety. Under the decade of action, road traffic crashes are reported to be a major public health threat, claiming over 1.3 million lives every year and injuring 20 to 50 million more. Young people are the most affected by road traffic crashes with a large portion of victims are aged 15 to 29 years old.

With young people being the most affected, it makes sense that they should be involved meaningfully in all stages of the decision-making process in local and global road safety efforts through participation. The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety unites young people and maximizes their impact on road safety and sustainable mobility in their communities. The Coalition amplifies youth voices all over the world to support them in their work, projects, and initiatives.

Through the Coalition and the Forum, youth voices, ideas, and perspectives will be elevated in the international platform. Get the chance to raise awareness on road safety and other development issues by participating in the global movement.

Deadline to apply is 17th March 2021.

REGISTER FOR THE ECOSOC YOUTH FORUM 2021   JOIN THE COALITION

Road to Zero Coalition
Road to Zero Coalition is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research institute managed by NSC. It has identified three major initiatives to reduce roadway fatalities; double down on evidence-based road safety strategies, help advance life-saving technology in vehicles and infrastructure, and adapt the safe systems approach.

In a report that lays out the strategies to end roadway deaths in the United States by 2050, the Road to Zero Coalition emphasizes that young people are affected disproportionately as road crashes are the leading cause of death for youth aged 15-24.

The report does not just list young people as victims of road crashes but as at-risk drivers who may be affected by external factors such as weather and other road infrastructures. It also notes how the perception of young people started to change as different sectors started to discuss health and transport with youth, teaching them about land-use policies and urban design that affects the community.

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety has launched a search for proposals to help achieve the demands listed in the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety through Local Actions. A local action is a short-term or mid-term grassroots action plan oriented to address the most pressing issues in the city or area where the youth member belongs. Applications are open from 22 January to 12 February. Get involved!

Local Action guidelines
The call for proposals is exclusive for members of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. Apart from being a member, the applicant must have conducted at least one youth consultation so that they can be guided in shaping their project plan through their conversation with youth leaders in the local area.

The project proposals are required to address the most urgent road safety needs in the community, as outlined in the Global Youth Statement. The projects will have a direct link with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have direct connections with road safety and sustainable mobility such as health, education, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities, and climate action.

Applicants are requested to develop original, impactful, innovative, and innovative projects that focus on three key strategies; community mobilization and awareness, advocacy, or peer-to-peer engagement.

Community mobilization projects help bring together stakeholders to raise awareness on important road safety issues in the community. advocacy projects focus on developing concrete and tangible actions and petitions to influence decision-makers to further the road safety agenda, and peer-to-peer engagement projects lean more on helping young leaders to facilitate, train, consult, and collaborate with other young leaders.

Winning project proposals
Winners of the local actions will be determined by our selection committee – an international and diverse group of experts who will judge proposals based on presentation, sustainability, impact, evidence-based actions, SDG inclusion, connection with road safety, project structure, and project implementation.

Winning applicants will receive support from the Global Youth Coalition in terms of three aspects; seed funding worth € 5000 for the implementation of the project, support in the development of a project plan to map out the project, and mentorship from the Coalition in areas such as communication, fundraising, networking, youth participation, and more.

Help turn the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety into a reality by sending in your proposal! 

JOIN THE COALITION   GO TO LOCAL ACTIONS    

DOWNLOAD GUIDELINES

In light of the global pandemic, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with FIA Foundation and Child Health Initiative, published a guidance manual for safe and healthy journeys to school during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The document will be a guide for individuals and organizations when schools reopen, discussing the measures to help keep students safe on school premises. 

COVID: the latest facts
In the time of COVID, the goal is to prevent the spread of the virus. In the context of the safe journeys manual, preventing transmission of the virus would revolve around school journeys while also addressing the risk of road traffic injury and air pollution.  

COVID-19 and road safety have a common unfortunate characteristic – they hit the most vulnerable people the hardest – Hartwig Schafer

The assumption that road deaths would go down because of global lockdowns was addressed by Mr. Schafer in his article Road Safety Matters, more so during COVID-19, saying that a closer look at the traffic data reveals that fatality rates per kilometer traveled have increased. He cites higher traffic speed due to lower traffic volumes, lack of enforcement and larger proportions of vulnerable road users account for the increase in road-related fatalities. 

The Association for Safe International Road Travel expressed the same observation in their article Road Safety During COVID-19, saying that as roads become less crowded with vehicles, many drivers exceed the speed limit at dangerous levels.

Key Actions
To help keep students safe, UNICEF has listed ten key actions that could be integrated into school reopening plans, mainly; engage the entire community, ensure physical distancing, prioritize non-motorized transport to support physical distancing, make it safe for vulnerable road users, help students who use non-motorized modes of transport, reduce private vehicle use, treat school buses as extensions of classrooms, promote safety and hygiene, ensure equal access to transport, and sustain changes in the long term.

Under these key actions, more specific tasks are identified and described so that it can guide groups from community members to policymakers in efforts to help keep students safe on their way to school and the rest of their educational journey. 

In the manual, UNICEF adds a checklist for different stakeholders to support safe and healthy journeys to school.

DOWNLOAD UNICEF MANUAL HERE 

Earlier this month, the World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology launched the International Research Conference on Road Safety, Transport, and Road Statistics which is dedicated to bringing together leading academic scientists, researchers, and research scholars to exchange and share experiences and research results in all aspects of road safety. 

International Research Conference
The conference on road safety, transport, and road statistics is part of the International Research Conference – a federated organization dedicated to bringing together significant numbers of diverse and scholarly events for presentation.

World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology describes the conference as a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, concerns, and solutions in the field of road safety, transport, and road statistics.

Applicants are invited to submit research abstracts, papers, e-posters, and research contributions describing original and unpublished results in all areas of road safety.

The deadline to submit abstracts and Full-Text Papers is on 28 January 2021 for the November conference in Rome, Italy.

Road Safety in Data
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of data in saying that it can be used to raise awareness about particular road safety issues. Road safety data also acts as evidence and is able to draw support for policies, programs, or allocation of resources.

Having accurate road safety data allows different organizations to create successful plans, projects, and initiatives that can address road safety issues in local and global settings. In the latest Capacity Development session launched by the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, YOURS Executive Director, Floor Lieshout, raised the importance of gathering road safety data before creating a project plan.

Help contribute to the data and resources in road safety, transport, and road safety statistics by sending your paper.

MORE INFORMATION HERE  

The World Transport Bank published a paper called Road Crash Trauma, Climate Change, Pollution and the Total Costs of Speed to raise awareness on the impact of speed on the safety of road users on congestion, pollution, and total costs of road travel to raise its case for speed reduction. Global Road Safety Partnership called this “an enormous opportunity to reduce road trauma”. 

Speed and the risk of fatal crashes 

Speeding is directly related to the likelihood of a crash occurring and the severity of the consequences of the crash. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that every 1km/h increase in speed raises the risk of an injury by 3% while also raising the risk of a fatal crash by 4-5%.

Speeding increases the likelihood that a driver will lose control of the vehicle because of a reduced reaction time to anticipate and respond to oncoming hazards. A high speeding vehicle also has “increased instability” and is more dangerous in an approaching curve.

In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that speeding was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities which means 25 deaths per day. For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities.

Speed management
With the new Decade of Action for Road Safety, governments and organizations have begun to address road safety risks.

Earlier this year, the Brussels Capital-Region set a default speed limit of 30hp from the original 50kph. The new speed will not only apply to the capital but also to all minor roads in the region. According to Brussels Mobility, about 60% of roads in the Brussels region are already in a 30kph zone.

Apart from official mandates, WHO lists other tools to help effectively manage speed. The organization presents six tools; speed zoning and speed limits, changing behavior – regulating and enforcing speed, changing behavior – public education, engineering treatments, use of speed-limiting technology and intelligent speed adaptation, and speed management by employees.

To continue raising awareness on speed, the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) declared that the 6^th UN Road Safety Week to be held this May will focus on speed. 

READ ABOUT UN ROAD SAFETY WEEK