Global Newsletter – January 2025

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As 2025 begins and we welcome the Lunar New Year, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for your commitment to safety on the roads all across the region.  This commitment is embodied by our partners and donors from across the world, who join with us to champion safe, equitable and sustainable mobility. 

Starting the new year on an exciting note, we are thrilled to share that we have been proudly featured in UN ESCAP’s (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) Transport and Communications Bulletin for Asia and the Pacific for our impactful work in enhancing child road safety across the region. In addition, our paper titled ‘Youth-Led Road Safety Initiatives: Harnessing Technology for Change in Viet Nam’ has also been included. 

The peer-reviewed article showcases the success of the Youth Engagement App (YEA) during its pilot phase under the AI&Me: Empowering Youth for Safer Roads program. It highlights how YEA has significantly raised students' awareness of road safety and meaningfully engaged youth in the process of creating safer environments.

Two members of our AI&Me team, Quyen Bui and Uyen Tran, will be travelling to Marrakech, Morocco, in advance of the 4th Global Ministerial Meeting to attend the 3rd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety. As members of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, Quyen and Uyen will be promoting the importance of including youth voices at the decision-making level and empowering youth to solve the global road safety crisis. 

Do not miss one of the parallel sessions of the Conference, ‘Protecting Children on the World's Roads’, on February 19th, where Quyen Bui will be sharing more about the case study of implementing the Safe School Zones Guide in Vietnam.

Our delegation attending the 4th Global Ministerial Conference for Road Safety 2025 is gearing up for the incredible opportunity to come together as a road safety community and advocate for stronger laws and policies safeguarding vulnerable road users. We hope to see you there!  

As we pave the way forward together to Marrakech, I invite you to please read on.

Sincerely,

Mirjam Sidik
CEO, AIP Foundation

In Memoriam

Son Michael Pham 
(1957 - 2024) 

It is with a heavy heart that we say farewell to our dear friend and colleague Son Michael Pham. Our heartfelt thoughts are with his many friends and family all over the world during this difficult time.

Son Michael Pham, Founder of Kids Without Borders, was a life-long philanthropist who dedicated his life to ensuring a safer and better world for millions of children. In 2001, he joined AIP Foundation as an esteemed member of our Board of Advisors. In this capacity, Son supported our activities and projects, catalyzing them forward. He was an avid supporter of our longest standing program, Helmets for Kids, promoting life-saving interventions to students of all ages across Vietnam. Involved in Helmets For Kids, Rotary, and especially in supporting Thien Nhan, including his first visit to Dartmouth for surgery, his leg amputation in Chicago, and his tests and evaluations at Houston Methodist Hospital, Son Michael Pham was a major asset throughout the US. He was an extraordinary humanitarian who dedicated his life to helping the most vulnerable and those suffering the worst of medical conditions.

Son remains respected by AIP Foundation staff and various government and non-government stakeholders in the United States, for his firm commitment to improving the lives of children and young people.