As part of our ongoing partnership with the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, we have been gearing up to deliver the next Alliance Advocates Training. After successfully delivering two high impact trainings for the Alliance in 2016 and 2017 in Memphis, Tenessee, USA, the Alliance has begun the process of taking the global training to a regional level.
A set of regional trainings are being delivered in 2018 with first being an African Regional focus in March. We have been working with the Alliance to plan and design the training curriculum, which we will deliver in Nairobi, Kenya.
There are less than two weeks to go for the next Alliance Advocates Training, taking place this year in Nairobi, Kenya. We have been working closely with the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety to set up the training content, which we will deliver in Kenya alongside the World Health Organization and other partners.
19 African leaders have been selected from the pool of Alliance Members after a rigorous selection process, ensuring that action after the training will be robust, impactful and sustainable. The training is part of the Alliance’s Empowerment Programme that aims to equip NGOs around the world with the strategic skills, knowledge and focus to make stronger impact in their countries for road safety.
YOURS Executive Director, Floor Lieshout said, “We are looking forward to delivering another training for the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety. It is a privilege to be working together with some of the brightest African NGO leaders on improving school areas for this regional training”.
Alliance Advocates in 2017 at the FedEx Global Headquarters, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Following the Alliance Empowerment Program mid-term evaluation, the Alliance is changing the way it will deliver the Alliance Advocates training in 2018.
To align more closely with our members’ regional needs and cultures, instead of one global Advocates training course, we will run several regional courses. In March, the first regional practical training will be offered in Nairobi, Kenya, for member NGOs from Africa.
In the Nairobi training, Advocates will work on a real-life project around two school zones in the city. They will gather and analyze data and turn it into advocacy for interventions to upgrade these schools from high risk to three-star status. Advocates will have the opportunity to present the proposals to Kenyan decision makers. They will then build an action plan to replicate what they have learned in their own countries.
This is an exciting opportunity to learn about and use road safety best practices, test out new tools and methodologies, and take away tangible learning points to be translated into other contexts and environments. Advocates will learn from experts from Youth for Road Safety (YOURS), the Association for Safe International Travel (ASIRT) Kenya, WHO, iRAP, and the Alliance.
Interview with two African Advocates
The Advocates training will include 20 Alliance members from 15 countries around Africa. The Alliance Advocates will work on a safe school zone data collection project using best practice tools and techniques.
The Alliance interviewed two of the new Advocates to hear about their work and their expectations for the training.
Stephanie Aketch, Humanity & Inclusion, Kenya
Humanity & Inclusion (Hi), formerly known as Handicap International, works alongside people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, focusing on their essential needs, improving their living conditions, and promoting respect for their dignity and rights.
In June 2017, an amendment to the Traffic Act was passed in Kenya, which should become operational this year. Stephanie says, “The act introduces safe school zones among other measures that seek to minimize the risks faced by children as they journey to and from schools.”
Stephanie hopes to use what she learns in the Advocate training to help move this legislation forward: “At the moment, it is not clear how aspects of speed-calming measures will be introduced to a number of high-speed roads servicing schools. From the mapping exercise for high-risk schools, I hope to draft a policy paper that informs the rules and regulations on how to identify roads servicing schools with high crash risks. This can then guide the roads authorities on which roads to prioritize and the nature of interventions they require.”
Horst Heimstadt, Private Sector Road Safety Forum, Namibia
The Private Sector Road Safety Forum (PSRSF) act as a link between government and the private sector, pushing for accountability and implementing joint projects to reduce road casualties. They already work within schools in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, doing safety assessments, implementing infrastructure improvements and school patrols, and educating the students—they estimate that, so far, they have trained 17,000 primary schoolchildren in road safety and, in partnership with police, have trained schoolchildren in eight schools as patrol guards.
“We want to learn how to do better assessments,” says Horst Heimstadt, about the Alliance Advocate training. “We have done assessments but we have not had any official training. We are familiar with the iRAP concept but have never used it, so I am particularly interested in the Star Rating for Schools tool.”
Horst’s plan, after the training, is not only for PSRSF to use the tools itself but to train other organizations in Namibia to use them too. Says Horst, “Namibia is a huge country with few people. It makes it hard to do projects in the north of the country especially without funding. So, rather than us do the projects, we can train partners located there.”
Be sure to stay tuned and connected with us on Twitter for live updates of the Alliance Advocates Africa Training.