EASST staff and partners played a substantial role in the 2nd Global Road Safety Conference in Brazil from November 16-19th. EASST Patron Lord Robertson, EASST Director Emma MacLennan, EASST partners Chinara Kasmambetova, Poghos Shahinyan, Serghei Diaconu and Tatiana Mihailova, and FIRE AID Chair Jim Fitzpatrick MP were all prominent speakers in different Conference events and parallel sessions.
EASST’s Emma MacLennan at the FIA Foundation Side Event on ‘Child Health and Urban Mobility’
The result of the Conference was the formal adoption of a new ‘Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety’ by conference delegates. The Declaration recommends actions to reduce road casualties by: strengthening road safety management, legislation and enforcement; promoting safer roads and more sustainable transportation; protecting vulnerable road users; developing safer vehicles; increasing awareness and building capacity of road users; improving post-crash response and rehabilitation; and strengthening cooperation and coordination to enhance road safety. The full Declaration can be downloaded here: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/Brasilia_Declaration/en/
EASST partners from Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia with HRH Prince Michael of Kent
Emma MacLennan was a speaker at three separate Conference events. At the FIA Foundation Side Event on ‘Child Health and Urban Mobility’ she joined other NGOs working to reduce child mortality, speaking of EASST’s work raising road safety awareness and promoting sustainable mobility. At a Side Event organised by Global NCAP on ‘Towards Zero – Halving Road Deaths by 2020,’ she set out the model employed by EASST and partners to build Safe Villages. Then at an International Road Transport Union Side Event on ‘Crash Avoidance Programmes’ Emma highlighted EASST’s work to improve occupational road safety management including our EASST/Cranfield University training course.
EASST partners also played a prominent role at Conference events. Chinara Kasmambetova, EASST partner in Kyrgyzstan, spoke at the ‘NGO Rally for Safe Roads for All’ organised by the FIA Foundation. Chinara outlined her successes and challenges as the only road safety NGO operating in Kyrgyzstan. The Rally was opened by EASST Patron Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, who had the honour of being the final speaker closing the 2-day formal Brasilia Conference in his role as Chairman of the Commission on Global Road Safety.
Chinara Kasmambetova, EASST partner in Kyrgyzstan, spoke at the ‘NGO Rally for Safe Roads for All’ organised by the FIA Foundation
EASST partners from Moldova, Serghei Diaconu and Tatiana Mihailova, spoke in different Conference sessions sharing their impressive successes in reducing road casualties. At a Parallel Session organised by the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) on ‘Safer Road Users’ Serghei underlined the importance of good road safety enforcement, highlighting the major strides made in the police reforms he spearheaded in Moldova. Tatiana Mihailova spoke in a Global NCAP Side Event on ‘Road Safety Fleet Management.’ She described the dramatic reductions in road casualties on public transport brought about by the ACM/EASST project – supported by the EBRD – on ‘Driving Business Safely.’
Tatiana Mihailova, EASST partner in Moldova, shares her experiences on reducing road casualties in Moldova
EASST Armenian partner Poghos Shahinyan spoke in a Towards Zero Foundation Side Event launching a new ‘Legislators’ Network for Road Safety.’ The example of Armenia – where the efforts of Poghos and the National Road Safety Council NGO helped to raise road safety high on the political agenda – was an inspiration to other delegates. He was joined by FIRE AID Chair Jim Fitzpatrick MP who will be a founding member of the new network.
At another Parallel Session on ‘Post-Crash Response’ organised by the World Health Organisation Jim Fitzpatrick MP, speaking as FIRE AID Chair, urged delegates to give serious consideration to capacity building for fire & rescue services in order to save more lives. In many countries – including many EASST countries of operation – fatality rates at the scene of a crash are far too high simply due to a lack of equipment, vehicles and training for road crash response. Jim spoke of FIRE AID’s work, receiving a warm reception from the audience and organisers.
FIRE AID Chair Jim Fitzpatrick MP sharing the UK experience at a parallel session organised by WHO
Other EASST partners and collaborators present at the event included Naimjon Mirzorakhimov of the Young Generation of Tajikistan and Raphael Musayev, President of the Belorusian Auto Moto Touring Club. General Viktor Kiryanov, Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, played a vital role in the Conference. At a dinner organised for the HRH Prince Michael of Kent road safety awards, General Kiryanov was warmly thanked by the Prince for his championing of road safety which led to the first Global Ministerial Road Safety Conference in 2009. He is a strategic partner of Road Safety Russia and a good friend to other EASST partners.
The Conference stimulated many new partnerships and initiatives that, it is hoped, will come to fruition in the coming months.
