On my return from Moscow, after participating in the Youth Meeting and attending the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, I shared our excellent work in Mali. Our association has set up a network of journalists and communicators named Malian Road Safety. This network has been established and even began to raise awareness on road safety among young people.
On February 28, 2010 we invited representatives of the national police, the union drivers transport (commonly known in Mali “Sotram) and local authorities to participate in a round table session with the young people. The aim of our round table session was to discuss road safety with the theme: “The issue of road safety in district I of Bamako: causes, consequences and possible solutions”.
The round table session was chaired by the Mayor of the district I of Bamako (Mrs Konté Fatoumata DOUMBIA) which was a great honour. Her involvement inspired us in our struggle against road safety, which can not be won without the involvement of local authorities.
After our conference the Mayor has pledged to create a special Road Safety Committee at the town hall. The committee will be in charge of the follow-up after this round table session. She furthermore said that young people will be represented in this committee to make sure that the youth concerns are taken into account in the implementation of road safety actions.
In conclusion I would like to stress out that in the fight against road insecurity, there are effective and inexpensive solutions and it is our individual and collective responsability to implement everywhere to save lives.
If you would like to have more information about our actions, please don´t hesitate to contact me directly at the following email address: mahamadoufofana2005@yahoo.fr
So far the news from Mali!
Kind regards,
Mahamadou FOFANA
Président de l’association AJD-SR, Bamako (MALI)
Mali Youth Delegate for YOURS – Youth for Road Safety