In the lead up to the 2nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety in Sweden 2020, Alliance member Youth for Road Safety (YOURS), and their Global Youth Task force of advocates are hosting consultations with young people around the world to talk about road safety and empower them to develop solutions to some of the greatest challenges faced by road users in their cities and communities.
The Global Youth Task force is made up of young volunteers and professionals, many of whom have been personally affected by road traffic crashes, motivating them to take charge of advocacy campaigns and programmes to improve road safety in their communities. They understand the gravity of the issue as a public health concern, and work in fields which will benefit from safer and more sustainable mobility, such as sustainable cities, safe schools, climate emergency, and youth rights and empowerment.
When we asked Manpreet Darroch, Head of Communications at YOURS, about the Taskforce and the Youth Assembly he told us:
“Young people are stepping up to the plate to say ‘enough is enough’ to their peers, family, and friends dying on the world’s roads. Road traffic crashes remain the biggest killer of young people globally and it is time we shift the paradigm that young people are ‘problem road users’ to showing that young people can be active change agents and assets for road safety.
The World Youth Assembly is entirely youth led. It has been organized by the Global Youth Taskforce who is in charge of all elements of the programme, branding, promotion, selection of delegates, and artistic inputs. The Assembly will bring together up to 200 young leaders from across the world to tackle the biggest public health threat to their lives through cross-cutting solutions and will be action oriented, inter-generational, and inclusive. We will be #ClaimingOurSpace for safe mobility and at the decision-making table”.
Every young person attending the Assembly will have engaged with other young people in their communities through youth consultations, so are deeply rooted in their communities and cities, and will act as champions for road safety in their respective countries. They will come from all over the world, and from a range of backgrounds, including civil society, academia, the private sector, and the government sector. As a whole, those attending the Assembly represent different experiences and realities in terms of safer mobility, and represent a collective voice for road safety.
The Assembly will take place on 18 February 2020, on the eve of the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, and will feature a full day of programming that brings together young advocates, campaigners, and change-agents who are committed to combating road traffic death and injury. Participants will be empowered with new knowledge, skills and resources which will enable them to build a roadmap and take local action through advocacy and campaigning. The event will provide attendees with the opportunity to connect with current decision-makers and build partnerships.
A Youth Declaration will be a primary outcome of the Assembly, which will then be presented at the Ministerial Conference. Read more about YOURS here.
