International Transport Forum 2018 Summit
- May 23, 2018
- Leipzig, DE
International Transport Forum 2018 Summit
Road Safety was central to the 2018 ITF’s 3-day Summit in Leipzig, Germany, the world’s largest gathering of transport ministers, heads of international organizations, policymakers, and public and private sectors officials. The Summit focused specifically on transport “Safety and Security” and the World Bank and GRSF played leading roles in various events.
- Overview
Road Safety at the International Transport Forum 2018 Summit
Road Safety was central to the 2018 International Transport Forum’s 3-day Summit in Leipzig, Germany, the world’s largest gathering of transport ministers, heads of international organizations, policymakers, and public and private sectors officials. This Summit focused specifically on transport “Safety and Security.” The GRSF and its host organization, the World Bank, played a leading role in the events detailed below.
First Road Safety Observatory in Africa ⌵︎
During the first day of the Summit, the World Bank, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and the International Transport Forum (ITF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards establishing the first regional Road Safety Observatory in Africa. The Observatory will support African countries’ efforts to reduce road traffic fatalities by coalescing their activities to systematically collect, analyze, and share reliable road crash data. José Luis Irigoyen, World Bank Senior Director for Transport and Digital Development, stated, “The World Bank is proud to be a part of this initiative. We are confident that the new Observatory will increase the visibility of the road safety challenge in Africa, enable governments to advance regional collaboration, and leverage synergies among African nations to improve road safety conditions, as the Road Safety Observatory in Latin America (OISEVI) is already doing.”
This initiative relied heavily on the support of the Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) and key partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), the GRSF, UNECA, the Islamic Development Bank, and Safer Africa among others, who have carried out workshops to assess the interest of African countries in joining the Observatory. The latest workshop took place in February in Dakar where seven African countries (Benin, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania), signed a resolution confirming their interest and support. See press release here.
> Watch this short video on the significance of the African Road Safety Observatory (Courtesy of News 24, South African news channel)
GRSF IN ACTION ⌵︎
Official Side Event: The Next Decade for Road Safety: Adopting Lessons Learned from the Decade of Action (2011-2020)
In an event organized by the GRSF, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the Towards Zero Foundation, road safety experts from various international organizations convened to discuss the challenges and lessons learned from the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020).
Panelists such as David Ward of the Towards Zero Foundation stressed the need for a new road safety target after 2020 to scale up progress worldwide, but especially in developing countries who need the funding that could be generated from a new target. Mr. Ward applauded the EU for setting a new target of halving road deaths and injuries by 2030 and pushed the international community to do the same.
The speakers also highlighted opportunities to overcome road safety barriers and leverage successful interventions such as the Safe System Approach, including using a holistic approach that shifts responsibility away from road users to the road designers and city planners in the fight to save lives. There was also a call to re-frame road safety policy approaches to better influence transportation officials, to consistently link mobility and safety as twin pillars that do not sacrifice efficiency.
The event was opened by Jean Todt (FIA/UN), Jose Luis Irigoyen (World Bank), and Olga Sehnalova (European Parliament), and moderated by Soames Job, Head of GRSF.
GRSF and the MDBs’ Road Safety Working Group Shared Booth ⌵︎
In a joint effort to highlight their work and provide a place to host multi-lateral meetings, the GRSF and the MDBs Road Safety Working Group co-hosted an interactive booth and disbursed their latest publications.
For a complete recap, click here.