A WEEK IN THE FIELD: PREPARING THE FIFTH GLOBAL MEETING

The Fifth Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims will take place in April. In the past week, Executive Director Lotte Brondum visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The purpose of this visit was to prepare for the meeting with representatives from the government, visit the venue, fine-tune the agenda and meet with partners.

The Global Meeting’s main objective is to share best practices towards the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as serving as a platform for member organizations to interact, synergize, and learn from one another.

The main meeting is set for 5 and 6 April with workshops planned for 3 and 4 April 2017.  

The updated program can be found HERE. You can continue to submit your comments or suggestions to admin@roadsafetyngos.org.

Registration for the meeting is open until 20 February 2017 and you can register HERE.

Read more HERE.

ALLIANCE THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATE

The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety’s Third General Assembly will be held during the Global Meeting. It will take place on 6 April 2017 and all Alliance Members are invited.
The General Assembly is an opportunity for members to add their input to the governance structures of the Alliance. As such, we welcome members' input regarding the following:

• General Assembly agenda items: We are currently calling for General Assembly agenda items. Please find information HERE;
• Bylaws: The Alliance bylaws have undergone a revision, and we welcome your comments prior to approval at the General Assembly. Please find the draft HERE;
• Board positions: There are three board positions open. Rochelle Sobel and Manual Ramos will stand for reelection and Gela Kvashiliva (interim member) will stand for election. Find their information HERE. If you would like to nominate additional members for the Board, please submit their name and member organization, as well as one page describing the nominated person’s skills, competencies, and previous participation in Alliance activities.

Agenda items, comments on the bylaws and board nominations should be sent to admin@roadsafetyngos.org and the deadline is 6 February 2017. Find full information HERE.

LANDMARK ROAD SAFETY RULING IN INDIA

In December 2016, the Supreme Court in India banned liquor sales on national and state highways. This signified a hard-won victory for Alliance Member ArriveSAFE.

In 2014, ArriveSAFE successfully brought a case to the High Courts in the States of Punjab and Haryana, resulting in the ban of liquor sales on national and state highways. The State Governments appealed to the Supreme Court, the highest legal authority in India, who ruled that the ban should remain. Moreover, because the Supreme Court has legal authority across the whole of India, the ruling applies not only in Punjab and Haryana, but across the whole country – a landmark victory for ArriveSAFE.

Harman Sidhu, founder of ArriveSAFE says, “I have a feeling of satisfaction, but at the same time of a job half done. We need to have an eye on implementation.”

Read more HERE.

BUILDING ON THE NEW URBAN AGENDA

The United Nations’ Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), held in Quito in October 2016, was a momentous event for road safety in many ways. Not only did it strengthen the commitment of the global community to make road safety a priority in urban planning through the New Urban Agenda, but it also saw the launch of Alliance Member Fundación CAVAT’s “Safe Kids on Ecuador’s Roads” program.

The program, which is a great example of how road safety fits into the New Urban Agenda, will provide a toolkit for the Government of Ecuador to facilitate the inclusion of road safety prevention policies specifically aimed at protecting children on the road. 

Read more HERE.

ROAD SAFETY GRANTS PROGRAMME NOW OPEN

On Monday 9 January 2017, the Global Road Safety Partnership launched the Round 11 Call for Proposals under the Road Safety Grants Programme. 

Since 2012, the Road Safety Grants Programme has supported organizations advocating for the adoption and implementation of evidence-based policies to protect road users. In Round 11, GRSP has expanded the scope of the Road Safety Grants Programme and will now accept applications for funding to advocate for strengthening road user policies as well as vehicle safety standards in eligible countries.

Read more HERE or find out about eligibility criteria and how to apply on the GRSP website. Proposals will be accepted online until 14:00 Central European Time on 7 February 2017.

THE ALLIANCE WELCOMES ONE NEW MEMBER

The Alliance is excited to welcome the new member that joined the Alliance in January:

• Fundația ProtectMD - Moldova