As 2015 draws to a close, the Alliance would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Looking back on 2015, there is much to be proud of and we saw many important advancements in global road safety.
The 4th Global Meeting of NGOs Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims was held in Marrakech, Morocco with participation from than 170 delegates representing 100 NGOs from over 52 countries. The meeting featured discussion panels on relevant road safety topics, capacity building workshops for NGOs, the biggest NGO-only poster exhibition to date, and a general assembly for members to vote on Alliance bylaws and the Board of Directors. The meeting resulted in the Marrakech Declaration.
The highly successful #SaveKidsLives campaign was launched in May during the 3rd Global UN Road Safety Week. With an original goal of 100,000 signatures to the Child Declaration on Road Safety, the #SaveKidsLives campaign expanded throughout the year and recently achieved 1 million signatures. The success of the campaign is due in large part to the active participation of Alliance members – thank you!
In October, the Alliance organized a consultation with UNECE and the newly appointed UN Special Envoy for Road Safety to discuss the new Envoy’s plan of action and how he will collaborate with civil society to promote the global road safety agenda. More than 40 Alliance member NGOs attended, and many additional Alliance members from around the world submitted questions for the Envoy.
September 2015 marked a momentous occasion for road safety advocates, as road safety targets were included for the first time in the Sustainable Development Goals.The inclusion of road safety in the Post-2015 Development Agenda is the result of years of advocacy efforts, and its inclusion provides new impetus for countries to prioritize road safety.
In addition, the 20th annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was commemorated on 15 November. You can now read about the many marches, religious services of all faiths, conferences, seminars, exhibitions, campaigns, and more conducted around the world on the official WDR website.
Last but not least, more than 2,200 delegates from over 110 countries, including more than 40 Alliance member NGOs, gathered in Brasilia, Brazil for the 2nd Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety on 18-19 November. At the conference, ministers and experts in road safety assessed progress during the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and discussed strategies for achieving the ambitious road safety targets included in the new Sustainable Development Goals.
These are just a few highlights from a productive year in road safety. With significant momentum gathered in 2015, it is important to not only continue but ramp up our efforts to improve road safety around the world. The #SaveKidsLives campaign
For more activities in 2016, see Alliance member Brake Professional’s up-to-date list.
The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety greatly looks forward to ongoing collaboration with its members and friends in the next year, and would like to extend warm wishes for a safe and successful 2016!
