This month, YOURS has been in conversations with organizations around the world and we are very excited to put the spotlight on TeamAlert. TearmAlert is an innovative, engaging and youth-led road safety organization that have engaged in a range of youth and road safety projects in The Netherlands.
TeamAlert is a youth-led NGO for road safety based in The Netherlands. TeamAlert started on initiative of the Dutch Minister of Transport in 2000. An important motive for this was that young people are highly at risk in traffic and, moreover, hardly aware of their vulnerability.
In 2000 the minister asked five young people to devise campaigns and activities with other young people to raise awareness on road safety. Who else reaches young people better than young people themselves? They were called “TeamAlert” and developed their own style of communicating. ‘Original’ and ‘a little risky ” were and still are the characteristics of all campaigns and activities. In 2003 TeamAlert grew into an independent and professional youth-led NGO, convinced of the principle for and by young people. Currently they have 14 young people working full-time on youth and road safety issues. Together they reach hundreds of thousands of young people every year with their road safety campaigns.
Activities
Today TeamAlert has many successful actions and campaigns developed and implemented, including: the Witte Waas (about drugs in traffic), Kruispunt (a road safety debate at schools) and BobZone (focused on drink driving). The campaigns can count on the enthusiasm of a large group of young people who together contribute to road safety in the Netherlands.
Peer education
TeamAlert speaks directly to young people and their responsibilities, openly discussing important road safety issues. TeamAlert does this on an original and contemporary way. The messages we bring is accepted by young people, since it is brought by young people who experience the same world as their peers. This allows us to highlight our road safety message on a realistic and effective way. During our campaigns and actions we never use the ´pointing finger´, but originality and humor. This goes along with a realistic and informative message that young people have to realize that traffic in The Netherlands is a serious matter.