EASST partners meet in Stockholm ahead of the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety

This week our EASST partners from across 15 countries met in Stockholm, Sweden for our 2020 All-EASST partners meeting and to take part in the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety.

2020 All-EASST partners meeting 

Being part of the EASST network means having a dedicated space for capacity building, networking and cross-border cooperation. Our annual All-EASST partners meeting offers an opportunity to get together, share experiences, discuss strategy, and learn from each other. It is a time when partners renew their ties, share skills and best practice, discuss common obstacles and learn how to improve their results.

In Stockholm this week, within the framework of the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, we have provided a range of opportunities for partners to share resources and methodologies – making their projects and initiatives more effective.

In learning from one another our partners are able to give local authorities and government Ministers specific examples of successful projects elsewhere which helps them advocate for change and builds confidence in their ability to deliver. 

“It is important to have this working relationship, with not just EASST, but the partner countries. We have our own different issues, but we also have similar issues and if one country has already found a great solution, instead of thinking of a totally new idea and starting from zero, we can we learn from their experience and do the same thing but adapted for our own country.”

Marla Munkh-Achit, EASST Partner – Global Shapers Ulaanbaatar Hub, Mongolia.

Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety

This week the Swedish Government is playing to host the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. The conference is co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and will involve minister-led delegations from more than 100 countries as well as representatives of international agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector. The theme for the Conference is “Achieving Global Goals 2030”. Following on from Moscow (2009) and Brasilia (2015), the conference will be an opportunity for delegates to share successes and lessons from implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020: chart future strategic directions for global road safety up to 2030 and beyond: and define ways to accelerate action on proven strategies to save lives. The Conference will also provide an opportunity to link road safety to other sustainability challenges.

Government delegations from EASST partner countries are in attendance and we are meeting with them to discuss the impact of the Decade of Action and opportunities for the future of road safety across the region under the new Stockholm Declaration. This document will be the final outcome of the conference and is expected to be ambitious and forward-looking and will connect road safety to implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In addition, EASST and our partners are playing a central role in a number of events throughout the week, including the parallel sessions: Enhancing Post-Crash Response, where our Director Emma MacLennan will speak about the work of our partner organisation FIRE AID, Protecting Children and Adolescents, where EASST Trustee Dr. Margie Peden will talk about the work of the Child Health Initiative, and Developing Effective and Accountable Institutions, where EASST partner Natalia Agre of Road Safety Russia will be presenting.

EASST partner, Tatiana Mihailova of the Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM) was been invited by the FIA Foundation to talk about the EASST Road Safety Education Pack and its implementation across the region at a pre-event on 17th February. While, representatives from our partner organisations in Georgia, Tajikistan and Ukraine have been selected to attend the 2nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety on the 18th February, an event organised by Youth for Road Safety bringing together young advocates, campaigners, and change-agents who are committed to combating road traffic injuries. Prior to the Assembly, our partner from the Young Generation of Tajikistan, was selected as a finalist in the Impact Generator Challenge – upon pitching his project in front of the judges at the Assembly he was awarded third prize, €3000 to initiate his project to reclaim space for walking and cycling in Dushanbe. 

Representatives from the EASST network are attending a number of other events throughout the week including those being organised by the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, the Federation Internationale d’Automobile (FIA), and the WHO Europe Regional Office.