On 5 December 2023, a milestone in the Alliance’s history, we launched our Strategic Plan 2024–2030: From Global Commitments to Local Delivery.
The launch event included inspiring testimonies from three Alliance members—Martin Galaternik from MINU Argentina, Augustus Fungo from Road Safety Ambassadors of Tanzania, and Amy Rolloque from the Center for Policy Studies and Advocacy on Sustainable Development in the Philippines—highlighting the positive impact of the Alliance’s initiatives on their road safety advocacy efforts.
The event also featured an insightful panel discussion with Bella Dinh-Zarr, FIA Foundation and Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), and Ahmed Shelbaya from The NADA Foundation For Safer Egyptian Roads.
We want to thank each one of you for your time and participation.
Watch the recording
Where we have come from: Testimonies
The Alliance has focused on empowering NGOs and advocating for road safety worldwide. We had testimonies from three of our members whose work benefitted from our work areas: a strong network, advocacy and accountability, and capacity building.
Martin Galaternik from MINU Argentina
How has the Alliance’s strong network helped me create a stronger demand for safe roads?
Being part of the Alliance gave us tools and networking to advocate for new laws.
We’ve been part of the incubator with other partners of the Alliance from Mexico, Ecuador, and Argentina. It’s been a great experience promoting the same activities in three different countries.
We are currently advocating in Buenos Aires for 30 km zones and traffic calming around university campuses.
We are launching the Argentinian Collision for Safe Mobility with other members of the Alliance with the main goal of having a national law on urban safe speeds of 30km/h. We are excited we have the advocacy toolkit, the training, and the networking; the Eighth Global Meeting in El Salvador gave us some background and tools to get the courage and try to impact more and more.
Augustus Fungo from Road Safety Ambassadors of Tanzania
How has the Alliance’s Advocacy and Accountability helped me hold my government accountable for road safety?
Becoming part of the Alliance expanded our knowledge base regarding advocacy strategies and the type of messages to take to the government leaders in our advocacy journey.
We convinced the government, with the Alliance Advocacy toolkit, and through the National Road Safety Council to develop a National Action Plan for Road Safety. In Tanzania, this is the first time we have had a comprehensive plan, and now, we will even be part of the technical team to provide support.
The Global Meeting I attended gave me another perspective, especially with the #CommitToAct campaign and the 30km/h.
We are thankful for the Advocacy and Accountability toolkit because it is helping us in our advocacy for 30km/h with key decision-makers.
Amy Rolloque from the Center for Policy Studies and Advocacy on Sustainable Development in the Philippines
How has the Alliance’s Capacity Building empowered me to make a real difference in road safety?
I received the Road Safety Advocacy Training in 2016 as part of the Capacity Building of the Global Alliance to its members in Memphis. This training helped me to develop as a person and as a professional. It gave me vast knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards road safety. It became an avenue for me to broaden my perspective and network. The training inspired me to become the best version of myself.
The training taught us the importance of data, the key facts and issues, how to address them, our goals and objectives, the people affected and the resources needed, the stakeholders, and the power mapping. The advocacy plan became our road map.
The advocacy training helped me become more vocal, courageous, and noisy for others. I learned to speak my mind.
Where we are now: Strategic Plan 2024–2030
Our strategy is an update of the Alliance strategy of 2019–2023. It was developed taking into account the role of civil society and NGOs. We conducted desk reviews and key informant interviews with members, stakeholders, funders, and partners. The strategy was also developed with input from the Alliance Secretariat and external consultants, and we held a workshop with the Board and Team to ensure all perspectives were considered.
Bella Dinh-Zarr, FIA Foundation and Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF)
What are the challenges to achieving the Decade of Action for Road Safety? What is needed to overcome these challenges?
I see the challenges in three areas that complement the five challenges mentioned in the Alliance’s strategy: How can we keep momentum going? How can I help my fellow alliance members present the cause?
The second challenge is integrating road safety into everything: sustainability, education, the well-being of people with disabilities, food, nutrition, physical activities, access to healthcare, business, the aging population, technology advances, and more. There is no aspect of our life and well-being that road safety does not touch. Everything is connected. We have to remind people about it, and we have to be relentless.
The third challenge is how we put more people into science and more science into the people. There are tools provided by the Alliance and the 5I Framework for Crash Investigation, by FIA Foundation and TIRF, to put more science into the people’s side that will make our voice, advocacy, and humanity even stronger.
Ahmed Shelbaya from The NADA Foundation For Safer Egyptian Roads
What role do NGOs play in the Decade of Action? How can they be equipped and supported to contribute to this global initiative effectively?
As civil society, we play an important role in holding our governments accountable at the local, regional, or global level.
The responsibility is everyone’s; however, as world citizens, we have granted and empowered certain institutions to take that power, responsibility, and authority. We entrusted them to take the correct action, but in many instances, they have yet to use what we’ve granted them.
We also need to hold the private sector and governments of high-income countries accountable with their bilateral aids, multilateral financial institutions, and UN system. We need them to do more, and we need to hold ourselves accountable as well.
NGOs should focus on increasing bottom-up pressure and empowering citizen mobilization.
Collaborating with other organizations working on related issues, such as environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and public health, can amplify the impact of the road safety movement.
Accountability is essential for achieving road safety goals. It requires both answerability and enforcement.
The Alliance provides valuable guidance and tools to NGOs working on road safety.
We need to tailor everything according to the context, empower each other at the local level, use those tools, and develop it further with the Alliance.
