On 22 November the National Road Safety Council of Armenia organised an international forum on the road safety in the city Yerevan to promote the UN Decade of Action with support from the EASST and the FIA Foundation.
Keynote speaker was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mr Tigran Sargsyan. Among the international guests were the FIA Foundation Director General David Ward, Director of EASST Emma MacLennan, Head of the Russian Traffic Police Department Colonel General Kiryanov and Alex Wurz, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Minister of Transport, Mr Manuk Vardanyan.
In his welcoming speech the Prime Minister who serves as Chairman of the National Road Safety Council of Armenia highlighted the success of recent road safety initiatives in reducing road fatalities in the country. Mr Sargsyan also mentioned the importance of the cooperation with the civil society. “We fully appreciate the help of civil society in raising the issue of road safety. Considerably since then and by cooperating with a civil society, we raise awareness of the public in favor of joint actions. The national program of the government also has been projected with direct participation of our citizens. It is a guarantee that we are able to reduce quantity of road accidents in Armenia.” The event was widely covered on TV and in print media. All the participants signed up for the support of upcoming UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
Colonel General Victor Kiryanov, Head of the Russian Traffic Police, welcomed participants of the forum and briefed them on the follow-up activities and efforts of the Russian Federation after holding highly successful First Global Ministerial conference on road safety in Moscow in November 2009. David Ward, Director General of the FIA Foundation, gave an overview of the coming UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and informed participants about Decade launch day scheduled for 11 May 2011 and official logo – Road Safety ‘Tag”. Also during the event the Prime Minister gave out prizes to children who took part in road safety quiz and competitions organized in schools during nationwide campaigns in November.
The success of Armenia’s road safety effort has also gained global recognition from the prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards. At the annual awards ceremony held in December in London, HRH Prince Michael of Kent KCVO presented the 2010 premier international road safety award to Mr Poghos Shahinyan, Head of Secretariat of the National Road Safety Council of Armenia and also Armenia-EASST Partner. He received international award from HRH Prince Michel for the Council’s highly successful campaigning on road safety which has contributed to making the roads of Armenia safer.
