YOURS – Youth for Road Safety – joined global leaders in Leipzig, Germany, for the 2025 Summit of the International Transport Forum (ITF), the world’s largest gathering of transport ministers and mobility experts. Throughout the Summit, YOURS brought forward bold and urgent youth perspectives to ensure road safety remains a global priority.
Because there’s no sustainability without safety, and no meaningful planning without youth participation.
Calling for stronger global vehicle safety standards
As part of our advocacy efforts, YOURS joined over 30 organisations in signing a joint letter to Dr. Juan Carlos Muñoz, President of the 2025 ITF Summit and Chile’s Minister of Transport. The letter urged ministers to protect and strengthen global vehicle safety regulations — not weaken them.
The key asks included:
1. Encouraging Trade Ministers to avoid negotiating vehicle safety standards in trade deals
2. Supporting global collaboration through the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations
3. Ensuring that recent progress in safety standards is reinforced and not reversed
This action, in collaboration with partners like Global NCAP, reinforced our shared belief: safer vehicles save lives — especially young lives — and must be prioritised globally.
Bringing the funding conversation to life
YOURS also took part in the UN Road Safety Fund Media Event, which brought together senior officials and advocates to spotlight the urgent need for increased and sustained financing for road safety.
The session featured:
Jean Todt, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety
Tatiana Molcean, UNECE Executive Secretary
Ministers from Chile, Ghana, and Slovenia
Pierre-Martin Huet, Sustainability & Impact Director, Michelin
Moderation by Nneka Henry, Head of the UN Road Safety Fund
The event showcased how global partnerships and funding are already delivering results in countries such as Chile and Ghana — and why investing in proven road safety measures must remain a global priority.
Influencing the next Decade of Sustainable Transport
YOURS was invited to contribute to the closed consultation on the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035), alongside key global actors including the Ministry of Transport of Chile, ITF, UN DESA, ADB, UNECE, ECLAC, Walk21, iRAP, TUMI, and GIZ.
We brought forward one clear message:
Young people must be recognised not just as users, but as co-designers of transport systems.
Our inputs focused on three core areas:
Road safety at the centre:
Integrate Vision Zero and the Safe System Approach across all mobility plans, and ensure infrastructure investments are safe by design.Transport as a health and climate issue:
Highlight road safety co-benefits in national climate goals and promote youth-led solutions like cycling and walking infrastructure.Meaningful youth participation and accountability:
Institutionalise youth roles in planning, monitoring and reporting mechanisms — and track youth-related targets with disaggregated data and clear indicators.
We also called for the creation of a Youth Movement for the Decade, co-led with civil society, to keep youth at the heart of sustainable transport action.
The message we’re carrying forward:
Safe streets and vehicles must be a non-negotiable part of every transport agenda
Global safety standards should be protected and strengthened for future generations
Youth are not just beneficiaries we are key stakeholders, actively shaping the future of transport
From policy to planning to financing, YOURS continues to push for a transport future where road safety and youth leadership go hand in hand.