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YouTubeAdvocacy empowerment program tests Star Rating for Schools app
With support from FedEx, the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety has graduated 14 road safety advocates and tested the iRAP Safe Routes to School app.
The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety has concluded its second Alliance Empowerment Program, training road safety advocates from around the world. The two-week intensive face-to-face training is part of a broader empowerment program benefitting all 170 Alliance member NGOs in over 90 countries.
Executive Director of the Global Alliance for NGOs for Road Safety, Lotte Brondum said, “Last year’s graduating class has already realised impressive accomplishments. One of our advocates applied what she learned to pass a seat belt law in Tunisia, and another passed a child helmet law in the Philippines. We can’t wait to see how this training will help this year’s class save more lives. We are especially grateful to Shane O’Connor and FedEx for sponsoring this training, which will save countless lives all over the world.”
FedEx also sponsored the iRAP Safe Routes to School app, together with the FIA Foundation and the Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility. The app was tested for the very first time at the South Winds school in Memphis, Tennessee, the 9th most dangerous city for pedestrians in the United States. “This simple, free, downloadable tool for communities to rate road safety around schools will revolutionize the ability of parents, teachers, and students to advocate,” said Julio Urzua, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. A local television station highlighted the event. Alliance Empowerment Program advocates were eager to use the app in their home countries to advocate for a safe and healthy route to school for all children – the goal of the Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility.
Natalie Draisin, North American Director of the FIA Foundation, attended the app testing and judged the final advocacy presentations of the graduating class, where they showcased how they will use their new skills in their home countries. After conducting a training on global road safety advocacy, she said, “Today, we’ve shared a variety of tools with the advocates – our speed vaccine campaign, the #SaveKidsLives campaign, and the WHO SAVELives package. They are equipped with the passion and tools to help us solve this public health epidemic. We cannot achieve the SDG without them. We are delighted to support these NGOs through the Alliance, and thank each of them for being part of the solution.”
The training curriculum, developed by Youth for Road Safety Executive Director Floor Lieshout and Communications Officer and Coordinator of the Global Network for Road Safety Manpreet Darroch covered the entire advocacy spectrum. YOURS facilitated the trainings and brought in a variety of technical experts and other partners to share their experiences. “It is an honour to work with such dedicated individuals, and to watch them grow personally and professionally over these past two weeks. We congratulate our graduates and look forward to seeing all they will achieve with their new advocacy skills” they said.
