Dear friends and supporters, This month I’m excited to share that the UN General Assembly approved the resolution on “improving global road safety,” highlighting important international efforts on road safety and the need to consider road safety in the post-2015 development agenda. In support of activities related to the new resolution, we call on all partners, foundations and private sector companies to continue or consider supporting our public awareness campaigns and road safety education programs to help reach the goals of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. Please read on to find out what we have done in April. Kind regards, Mirjam Sidik
1. Global2. Vietnam
3. Cambodia
4. Thailand
5. China6. Uganda
UN General Assembly adopts key resolution on improving road safety
On April 10, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on “Improving global road safety.” The resolution was sponsored by the Government of the Russian Federation and co-sponsored by dozens of other countries. Among key decisions, the resolution welcomes the offer of the Government of Brazil to host the Second Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in 2015; encourages the inclusion of road safety in the post-2015 development agenda; invites WHO to continue monitoring progress in the Decade of Action; and requests organization of the Third UN Global Road Safety Week in 2015 on children and road safety.
News Update:
UPS facilitates 4,000 students to share their views on the importance of wearing a helmet
From March 6-28, as part of the Helmets for Kids program sponsored by The UPS Foundation, extracurricular activities for six Ho Chi Minh City primary schools were organized in Binh Chanh and District 12. The activities were designed to remind students who attend high-risk schools about safe road behaviors and helmet usage. As part of the activities, approximately 4,000 students joined an essay writing contest with the topic “Helmet - my best friend on the road” to share their opinions on the importance of wearing a helmet. UPS staff volunteered to mark all the essays and handed out awards to students at the extracurricular events. After participating in the activities, students not only gained knowledge about road safety, they also became young helmet use advocates. Non-profit helmet brand Protec opens its fourth showroom in Ho Chi Minh City
AIP Foundation's non-profit helmet brand Protec opened its fourth Ho Chi Minh City store, the seventh showroom in Vietnam. Protec provides access to affordable, high quality helmets that are lightweight and fit the needs of warm climates across the developing world. As a socially conscious enterprise, the Protec factory employs the physically disabled and reinvests all profits into AIP Foundation’s public awareness and road safety education programs. AIP Foundation partners with Ford to reduce bad driver behaviors in Vietnam
As part of AIP Foundation’s partnership with Ford Vietnam, Mirjam Sidik, CEO of AIP Foundation, presented at the launch of Ford’s Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) training program in Ho Chi Minh City.
Abbott subsidizes standard helmets for parents' helmet exchange
AIP Foundation and Abbott publically commenced the new road safety education program,
Helmets for Families, built on the proven school-based program,
Helmets for Kids, with a ceremony at Cau Xang Primary School in Binh Chanh District on April 23.
Swedish Embassy donates 500 helmets to primary school students in Hanoi
The Swedish Embassy in Hanoi joined with AIP Foundation to deliver 500 helmets to students of Cat Linh Primary School in Hanoi. At the event, organizers called for stronger public response and urged parents and adults in Vietnam to put helmets on their children’s heads whenever they travel on motorcycles.
Johnson & Johnson donates 32,000 helmets with AIP Foundation by the end of 2014
On April 28-29, Johnson & Johnson kicked-off their third year of sponsorship with AIP Foundation’s
Helmets for Kids program at three primary schools in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Dong Nai provinces.
Citizens test their knowledge online to promote National Road Safety Week
During the month leading up to National Road Safety Week, AIP Foundation conducted four weekly quizzes on its educational road safety website (www.saferoads.org.kh). The quizzes were themed around the National Road Safety Week and the high risk of crashes during the Khmer New Year. Each week, five winners who answered the quiz correctly were selected and given a helmet. To encourage participants, AIP Foundation promoted the activity through their Facebook page which has a total of 10,244 followers. Manulife reinforces safe road behaviors among students in preparation for the Khmer New Year
In preperation for the high increase of road crashes which occur during the Khmer New Year, Manulife sponsored two additional extracurricular road safety activities for 150 students at Wat Preah Put Primary School in Phnom Penh.
AIP Foundation presents at the 7th National Road Safety Week commencement ceremony
The National Road Safety Week, held from April 7 to 14, offers road safety stakeholders and the government the opportunity to strengthen their public awareness activities, and in particular, to improve helmet use and advocate for the passenger helmet legislation.
920 students are informed about the Cambodia Road Safety Policy and Action Plan
Throughout April, AIP Foundation in collaboration with the National Road Safety Committee, led workshops called “The Helmet Use and National Road Safety Policy.” Through the workshops, AIP Foundation was able to educate and inform students about the importance of helmet use, share road safety messages, and communicate the Road Safety Policy and Action Plan.
Kampong Speu community representatives become road safety role models
Fifteen representatives from the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia and Department of Public Work and Transport of Kampong Speu Province joined a workshop on April 23 to learn about the benefits of motorcycle helmets and seatbelts, as well as the risks associated with drunk driving. As part of the workshop, AIP Foundation distributed helmets to the participants to encourage them to be positive role models for their families and communities. Community outreach activities promote helmet use among parents and children
Through Manulife’s Helmets for Families project at Wat Preah Put Primary School, AIP Foundation conducted community outreach activities to promote passenger helmet use among parents and children in the school’s community. Reaching hundreds of people, residents were given road safety educational material focusing on the importance of helmet use, the road crash situation in Cambodia, and the upcoming legislation amendment which will require passengers to wear helmets.
News Update:
AIP Foundation and Save the Children meet with Royal Thai Police to discuss further collaboration
On March 20, AIP Foundation and Save the Children met with the Royal Thai Police to report the results of four trial projects, including helmet banks, a "pop-up" petrol station retail kiosk, increased police enforcement, and helmet lending at taxi stands. During the meeting, the parties discussed the trial results and ideas for further collaboration on future projects. After the meeting, Ratana Winther, Country Director of AIP Foundation, was interviewed by Thai national TV channels. For photos, please click here. National Geographic to feature AIP Foundation in a “Driving progress in Asia” video
National Geographic and Fox TV came to Thailand to shoot a campaign video about progress in Asia and requested to feature AIP Foundation and its work around children’s road safety.
Please click here for more photos. Royal Thai Police and AIP Foundation lead Songkran road safety campaigns
The Songkran (Thai New Year) holiday period is a particularly dangerious time on Thailand’s roads. In 2013, 321 fatalities occurred due to road crashes during the seven-day holiday period. On April 10, in the lead up to Songkran 2014, the Royal Thai Police and AIP Foundation led two campaigns promoting road safety. AIP Foundation and The Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel staff rode in a motorcycle parade through Bangkok for the “Drive safely for Songkran 2014” campaign to raise awareness of the need to drive safely during the holidays.
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation unveils new command center
On April 17, AIP Foundation and Save the Children met with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM). The Deputy Director-General of DDPM showed AIP Foundation the newly established national disaster commanding/monitoring center. During the meeting, AIP Foundation also had a chance to hold a discussion with the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, who is responsible for road safety, to discuss future projects and the collaboration with Save the Children on a child helmet project.
Parents of 18 high-risk primary schools to receive valuable road safety training
To increase the effectiveness of road safety classes among students at project schools, AIP Foundation designed a road safety training workshop for parents. The aim of the workshop is to emphasize to parents the high traffic risks their children face every day and the importance of parents’ participation in educating their children on road safety. On April 22, AIP Foundation led the first workshop for parents at Shuitian Primary School, one of 18 Walk Wise project schools. Two traffic policemen from Guojia Traffic Police Department and the Principal and Safety Director of Shuitian Primary School conducted the workshops. The sessions familiarized parents with the importance of road safety education in schools and shared examples of recent road crashes in the school’s surrounding area, explaining the reason of those incidents. Parents were also informed of the traffic safety regulations and laws in China, focusing on the regulations of using legal and registered modes of public transport and the enforcement of wearing helmets when driving motorbikes. The workshop ended by reinforcing the importance of safe road behaviors among parents to positively influence their children.
New Update: Uganda puts pedestrian and cyclist safety first in drive to improve its roads - After devising policies to protect non-motorized traffic, Uganda will become a pioneer in road safety in sub-Saharan Africa. Pedestrian safety is a major concern in Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The government has made real progress in this area. In 2012, it drafted a policy, which has since been made law, to protect pedestrians and cyclists. People will have to change their behavior on the roads, which is why educating the public is so important, as Uganda's new policy recognizes.
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