The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety is powered by the Youth Advisory Board, a powerful group of young people from around the globe from different backgrounds tied together by their passion and commitment for safer roads and sustainable mobility.

Through the coalition website, www.claimingourspace.org, members of the Youth Advisory Board shared how their fields connect with road safety and sustainable mobility. Check out the first batch! 

Redefining the Inevitable – An Opinion Piece from Australia
Grace writes about road safety in Australia and how it was time to work on changing the statistics. With the new Decade of Action for Road Safety, Grace emphasizes that we must commit to achieving Target 3.6 which is to halve the number of road-related deaths and injuries by the year 2030.

As a member of the Youth Advisory Board, Grace assists with global partnerships and advocacy work. Read her article here:

REDEFINING THE INEVITABLE

Road Safety through the Lens of Development Communication
Development Communication is focused on using communication to educate people on the Sustainable Development Goals. In this piece, Maolin discusses the importance of communication in the road safety movement.

She talks about how the use of social media tools help promote and raise awareness on important issues such as road safety and sustainable mobility. She continues by saying that social media and communication are also powerful tools in engaging youth.

Maolin works under communications and capacity development as a youth advisory board member. Read her article here:

ROAD SAFETY THROUGH THE LENS OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION 

The Correlation Between Climate and Road Safety
A clear connection between climate and road safety is seen through the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by modern machines such as cars and other road safety vehicles.

In her article, Soumita notes that urbanization, connectivity, and daily commute have made the transport system necessary for success and progress. A busier transport system means more options for safer and more sustainable mobility.

As a member of the Youth Advisory Board, Soumita handles the capacity development needs of the group – providing materials and resources that could improve the knowledge and abilities of coalition members.

Read her article here:

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN CLIMATE AND ACTION

Vida Urgente: Youth Leading the Change
Vida Urgente is a program under the Thiago de Moraes Foundation that develops projects and actions of education, culture, assistance, and social mobilization as guided by its mission to preserve life and road safety. 

In his article, Thiago talks about how Vida Urgente continues to empower youth to become road safety leaders and activists. He talks about how youth are leading the change for safer roads and sustainable mobility.

As a youth advisory board member, Thiago helps in planning and executing advocacy activities. Read his article here:

VIDA URGENTE: YOUTH LEADING THE CHANGE 

Growing up, hearing about another person losing their life in the roads of my small rural community was a common event. 

There was an average death toll of 23 road-related deaths across Australia in 2019, with over 40,000 injuries happening annually, it’s easy to see how Australians have become desensitized to the trauma and accept traffic deaths as inevitable.

However, the most important thing to realize is that our acceptance of road-related deaths as inevitable is the biggest barrier in the efforts to save lives.

The acceptance means that we consent to lose loved ones as a trade-off for speeding on the roads, cheap and unsafe vehicles, and unsafe roads.

The International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) estimates that the financial cost of road trauma in Australia every year comes up to $17.2 Billion.

It doesn’t have to be that way. For instance, Norway’s capital city, Oslo, with a population of almost 700,000, had only one road-related death in 2019. 

The Commonwealth Secretariat is hosting a new webinar series for young people to have a louder voice in policy decisions affecting them. The announcement comes after both the Commonwealth Youth Forum and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) were postponed due to COVID-19.

Engaging young people

Expert Panel Member to the Commonwealth Road Safety Initiative and YOURS staff member Manpreet Darroch said, “We have been pursuing road safety to be focused on within the Commonwealth Youth structure through the Commonwealth Road Safety Initiative. We encourage young leaders to participate in the action series and bang the drum from road safety within the relevant connected sessions”.

Taking Charge of Our Future

The monthly ‘Taking Charge of our Future’ webinar series will run from July to December. It will focus on the five CHOGM pillars covering issues such as employment, climate change, technology, education and equal opportunities.

The Commonwealth Youth Council’s vice chair Darrion Narine said: “Young people need a seat at the table where decisions are made about their future.

“This series will allow us to consult with young people as equal partners in coming up with solutions that leaders can consider to respond to their needs, particularly in light of the pandemic.”

Building on the 2020 theme of ‘youth engagement for global action’ for International Youth Day, the series will engage about 1,000 young people to ensure their voices are heard in the debate around global development.

Shomy Hasan Chowdhury from the Commonwealth Youth Forum’s taskforce said: “The impact of COVID-19 will be far lasting, excluding young people or diverting attention away from them will be harmful to everyone.

“This webinar series is critical for young people to come together and brainstorm fresh ideas to inform global responses to deal with what is to come after COVID-19.” Read more.

Upcoming episodes:

• Episode 1: Taking Charge of our Future
• Episode 2: Trade, Entrepreneurship, and Employment
• Episode 3: Technology and Innovation
• Episode 4: Youth Development: Inclusive, Equitable, and Accessible Opportunities
• Episode 5: Governance and the Rule of Law: Youth Leadership in Decision-making
• Episode 6: Environment: Climate Change and Sustainable Blue Economies

REGISTER FOR THE SERIES

COMMONWEALTH ROAD SAFETY INITIATIVE

The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety unites individual youth and organizations. We are passionate young people from across the world taking action on safe mobility issues. We are championing meaningful youth participation in road safety and beyond.

The Coalition offers young leaders resources, skills, partnerships and opportunities to take their ideas to the next level and maximize their impact. It believes that global and local action is needed to make the world’s roads safer for everyone. The Coalition connects to key related topics such as health, sustainable cities, climate change, education, poverty and equality.

Yesterday, in a special live stream launch, hosted by Youth Advisory Board Member, Alex Ayub – we took to your screens to bring introduce young people to the new Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. Here from the Youth Advisory Board on what they will do to take the Global Youth Coalition forward.