Our Policymakers’ Toolkit is here! We bring you a unique advocacy document that will help policymakers and decision-makers meaningfully engage with young people. This Toolkit promotes the core principles of meaningful youth participation as a cycle of relationship building, commitment, investment, and a shift in mindset around the idea of working with youth and for youth.
Once you download our Toolkit, you will have access to a road map that will guide you through the ins and outs of meaningful youth participation. It will pave the way for the development, implementation, and evaluation of road safety policies with young people.
You will also find case studies that show the tangible benefits of involving young people in local and global road safety efforts. We provide examples through the experiences of our youth leaders. Finally, you will get self-assessment scorecards that will support the evaluation of your efforts to meaningfully involve youth. The scorecards will also help you track your progress as you work on meaningful participatory practices.
The Toolkit was initially presented during the High-Level Meeting on Road Safety which happened last 30 June. Our Executive Director, Floor Lieshout, spoke about the need for the Toolkit. He talked about what it meant to meaningfully involve youth in all stages of policymaking and decision-making.
He also provided a rundown of how local and global leaders can create inclusive impact through a cycle that focuses on mindset, the way of working, and commitment and investment in young people, their experiences, ideas, expertise, and perception.
Through the Toolkit, we highlight the fact that road traffic crashes are the leading killer of young people. We present key data that present the realities youth face on the world’s roads. We also acknowledge that human error is inevitable, especially for children and adolescents who are still developing physically and cognitively. This is why it’s important to create a system that takes into account these factors and design one that protects and involves youth.
“Road traffic crashes are the leading killer of youth. Young people are smart and creative. With our skills and ingenuity, we are able to work with decision-makers to reduce the number of deaths and achieve the global road safety mandates.” – Youth Advocate, Nigeria.
The Toolkit states that; the fundamental right of youth to meaningfully participate in policymaking processes is not a new idea. Participation is a human right recognized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child for those under 18 years of age; in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and is central to equal, inclusive, and sustainable development in the Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda. The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030 recognizes youth as a critical stakeholder vital to its successful delivery.
If you haven’t yet, it’s time you meaningfully engage and work with young people. Download our Policymakers’ Toolkit to get started!