Newsletter from European Road Safety Charter

Dear European Road Safety Charter member In this newsletter, we announce the call for good practices, we reflect on the past European Road Safety Charter (ERSC) events and project EDWARD – European Day without a Road Death. In addition, we will share some Members’ news and announce upcoming Charter activities and events. Call for submissions on good practices with a special focus on Education in Road Safety, the ERSC’s School Challenge 2019. We are pleased to inform you that the ‘Good practice’ section of the ERSC’s website is now open for submissions. A good practice can be any set of actions (strategies, measures, methods, approaches etc.) that have been successfully addressing a road safety problem. If you have undertaken a project falling under this description, share it with us by clicking here. By submitting your good practice, you will be eligible to win an Excellence in Road Safety Award. This year we have a special “school challenge” with two subcategories (infants and children, and pre-teens and adolescents). This special school challenge not only addresses the good practices organised by the schools themselves, but it also includes the good practices organised by other external entities (enterprises, associations, local/public authorities, the police…) for the schools and the students. It is important to note that the call for submissions is not only open for recently developed good practices, but submissions can also include less recent but still ongoing good practices. The main evaluation criteria are: • Innovative approach and creativity “To what extend your initiative leads to new approaches and practices?” • Impact “Can you estimate the impact of the initiative at the local, regional, or national level?” • Transferability “Will the initiative allow the transfer, dissemination, or application of results, experience, knowledge and good practice on a different scale?” • Visibility “How successfully has the initiative been promoted and disseminated?” • Continuity “Is there a plan to continue some activities in the coming years?” • Measurability “Can the impact or the potential success be measured?” The information of previous Award winners and other applications can be found here. The guidelines to help you with your application are on this page. On the same page, you can find the guidelines for youth commitment to assist you with your application for the special school challenge. The 2019 Excellence in Road Safety Award ceremony will probably be held in June 2019 in the presence of Violeta Bulc, the EU Commissioner for Mobility and Transport. During this ceremony, we will also celebrate the 15th anniversary of the European Road Safety Charter, which was established in 2004 by the European Commission’s Directorate General for transport. More details on the deadline for applications and further information on our special school challenge will be announced in January. You can also contact us at Charter@vias.be Charter activities and events Working Together to Make Our Roads Safer – Enhanced Road Safety Governance and Good Practices conference (Sofia, Bulgaria) on 2 October 2018 This ERSCharter conference in Bulgaria was a successful meeting. The event was co-organised by the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior and the European Road Safety Charter team; it was marked with great media coverage and attendance. There were more than 90 representatives, including stakeholders involved in road safety in Bulgaria (state institutions, private sector actors, and NGOs), representatives of the European Commission, and leading experts from EU Member States. The event included keynote speeches from representatives of four ministries. They concluded: ‘The complex, systematic approach and the coordination between state institutions as well as with the public sector represent significant factors for achieving the goal for safer roads. Each saved life is the most important indicator of the relevance of the common efforts’. Mr. Matthew Baldwin, European Coordinator for Road Safety, is appointed to EC’s High Level Coordinator for Road Safety as of 2 October2018. He tried to encourage the participating stakeholders with his speech. His memorable words were: ‘Road safety is a moral challenge for all of us!’ Ms. Vassiliki Daneli-Mylona from the European Road Safety Charter team presented their new strategy and gave advices to current and potential members on how to undertake successful Road Safety Commitment. Furthermore, awarded good practices from the last “Excellence in Road Safety Awards” were presented. All participants were encouraged to submit their own good practices in order to disseminate this information throughout Europe. For the full report, presentations and pictures, click here The next European Road Safety Charter event ‘Safe Roads’ took place on the 4th October, at Museo Mille Miglia in Brescia, Italy. This event was co-organised by ERSC member Rete scolastica "Le Quattro Esse" from Brescia, and its partners. It was a well-attended event with around 60 participants. The speakers at the event focused on road safety in Italy, road safety education, and the use of media in promoting road safety. The event was moderated by Mr. Paolo Redaelli, a journalist and the secretary of the Traffic and Mobility Commission of ACI Milan. The event included welcoming speeches from representatives of AIFOS, Automobile Club Brescia, Brescia Mobility, and school network ‘Le Quattro Esse’. European and Italian policies on education and road safety were presented by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and Associazione Sostenitori ed Amici della Polizia Stradale (ASAPS). Caterina Turati, a pedagogue, discussed the role of social media and media on road safety education. Several good practices were presented: a platform helping young people learn Italian through the teaching of traffic rules, an innovative educational format for secondary school, and university students. In addition, technical and emotional aspects in road safety education were showcased with a short movie – "M 603" Boys On The Road; a case study was presented on the topic of pedestrian mobility with emphasis on pedestrian crosswalks in school zones. The presentation made by the ERSC team focused on explaining to the participants the objectives of the European Road Safety Charter; the team described the new phase 2016-2019. Participants were encouraged to join ESRC and to make a commitment to improving road safety and developing initiatives that they can submit to the annual ERSC Excellence in Road Safety competition. Some good practice examples from across Europe were presented and discussed with the participants. For the full report, presentations and pictures, click here On the 22nd of November the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Anastasiades, welcomed the European Road Safety Charter Team in the Presidential Palace in Nicosia. Together with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, the ESRC team organised a wide range of workshops to identify the main road safety issues in Europe and Cyprus. The objectives and added value of the European Road Safety Charter were presented, and concrete members’ experiences were showcased. The event was also an excellent occasion to discuss ways of improving road safety, regardless of the type of organizations the participants belonged to. For the full report, presentations and pictures, click here Member’s news Association Prévention Routière (Winner of the Award for Excellence in Road Safety 2018 in the category ‘Associations’ with the good practice ‘Ville Prudente’) recently rewarded 134 municipalities in France with the label ‘Ville Prudente’ (safe city). Local politicians have only good reasons to act: to provide a safe environment for their fellow citizens to share public space between all users and to preserve the living environment of each person ... Their commitment can take different forms: facilities to ease and slow down traffic, to make safe walking and cycling trips, or to better share public space, to provide public forums for citizens, awareness and information sessions promoted in schools or clubs seniors ... Congratulations to these pioneers for their commitment to road safety and the prevention of road crashes! More info: www.villeprudente.fr Did you know that the European Road Safety Charter has almost reached the milestone of Upcoming Charter events and activities Wednesday 16 January 2019 | 14h00 – 15h30 (CET) Webinar on Road Safety Education Education for children and young adults Education in driver training Education in enterprises Wednesday 30 January 2019 | 8h45 – 14h (CET) Leuven, Belgium Workshop on European Road Safety Charter Monday 11 February 2019 | 14h – 17h (WET) Lisbon, Portugal Workshop on European Road Safety Charter More details to participate will be in the next newsletter, the Charter’s website and on social media.