Sweden 2020: Program Announced

This week, the preliminary program for the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety was released. The conference will be held in Sweden on 19-20 February 2020 and its theme is Achieving Global Goals.

The conference is extremely important because it marks the end of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2010 (Decade of Action). In the lead up to the event, NGOs have been encouraging and preparing their government ministers to take part and show they are serious about reducing road deaths and injuries by 50% in their countries.

The program will provide world leaders from more than 80 countries an opportunity to share their country’s progress on the Global Plan for the Decade of Action 2011–2020, identify ways to link road safety to other sustainability challenges, accelerate action on proven life-saving strategies, and plan the future strategy for global road safety. The Alliance and other civil society organizations have been pushing for the 2020 target to reduce road deaths and injuries will be extended to 2030 and it is anticipated that this will be agreed at the conference. See the official program and read more HERE.

The Alliance is delighted to be hosting three official pre-events on the eve of the conference:

• The People’s Exhibition, an interactive display will enable the public to experience first hand the dangerous road conditions faced by citizens around the world, hear stories from victims of road traffic crashes, and learn about the scale of the road safety crisis and solutions that could resolve it. 
• Presentation of the People’s Survey Results, which will demonstrate the impact that road crashes are having on the lives of real people all over the world, including their relationships, physical and psychological well-being, and ability to work or complete an education. The results will enable the Alliance and its members to form an advocacy base.
• The People’s Meeting, will be a call to action from NGOs and civil society leaders to their governments to #CommitToAct for road safety. It will feature a symbolic act where empty pairs of shoes representing the lives of 3700 lives lost on the road each day will be unveiled. 

Our #CommitToAct campaign is preparing the way for the conference, demanding that world leaders and decision makers commit to putting people first and act on those commitments to reduce the number of road deaths around the world.