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7th UN Global Road Safety Week: #RethinkMobility

The 7th UN Global Road Safety Week will be held 15-21 May 2023. It will call for policy makers to #RethinkMobility in order to make walking, cycling, and public transport safe and convenient so that people can make the shift to active, sustainable mobility. This modal shift is one of the recommendations in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action 2021-2030.

On this page find:

Key messages

  • There is a desperate need for governments and their partners to rethink mobility. 
  • Safety must be at the core of efforts to reimagine how we move in the world. 
  • To ensure safety, road networks must be designed with the most at risk in mind.
  • When safe, walking and cycling can contribute to making people healthy, cities sustainable, and societies equitable.
  • Safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable public transport is a solution for many of societies’ ills.

Advocacy opportunities

The theme of this year’s UN Global Road Safety Week is an ideal opportunity to push for specific, evidence-based interventions that make walking, cycling, and public transport safer. Start by identifying the one, key action that will help make walking, cycling, and public transport safer in your community, city, or country, and plan how you will get that message across.

  1. Identify your key ask: The ALLIANCE ACCOUNTABILITY TOOLKIT can help you.
  2. Identify what authority is accountable for it: Which decision makers should you target? Which policy makers or influencers will support you? Who else is involved?
  3. Decide how you will get your message across: What campaign activities will help you (see ACTIVITIES below for some ideas)? Who can you involve in your activities?
  4. Follow up: After your campaign, remember to keep following up on any endorsements or commitments made.

Activities

Here are some ideas for activities for the week to help you push your advocacy forward. This is not an exhaustive list and we would love to hear your other activity plans and ideas.

Activities for NGOs (with decision maker/authority engagement)

Car free days

Make a few key streets where people and vehicles usually mix (such as shopping streets), car free for a day. Rather than just encouraging people to walk and cycle, car free days create the conditions where they can walk and cycle freely. Remember to get the necessary permissions well in advance and advertise your car free day widely.

Involved: local authorities, NGOs, communities, media

Decision makers “walking the talk”

Hold a media event or roundtable on public transport or with a decision maker or other public figure walking or cycling to show that it is a desirable way to travel. Decision makers (or influencers and celebrities) have a powerful influence on people’s perceptions. In many countries, people are not used to powerful people walking, cycling, and taking public transport. 

Involved: decision makers/influencers/celebrities, journalists, NGOs

“Show and tell” your decision maker

Walk your decision maker around the neighborhood. Show them what the problems are and needs to be done to make your streets safe for walking and cycling. This activity could empower community groups, schools, and other groups to demand safety. It could also incorporate a record your journey element.

Involved: decision makers, NGOs, community members and leaders

Pop up infrastructure

Promote bicycle lanes or other active mobility infrastructure by selecting a street and implementing temporary pop up infrastructure (with permissions).  

Involved: Local authorities, NGOs, community groups 

Greater complexity

  • Walkability/cyclability studies could be a good tool in the right hands, but without strong expertise might not produce accurate results and then could be potentially damaging.
  • Community polls and surveys: a great tool for NGOs with the knowledge to ask the right questions.

Activities for/with government authorities

Free public transport days

Encourage people to use public transport by making it free for a day and talking about the benefits of safe public transport.

Involved: local authorities, bus companies, media and social media

Unveil an implementation

Use the opportunity of the UN Global Road Safety Week for a public unveiling of an implementation and to push for wider roll out.

Involved: local authorities, NGOs, community groups and members, media

Get a commitment

Campaign weeks are also a great opportunity to arrange with your authorities to publicly make a specific commitment for active travel.

Involved: decision makers, NGOs, media

Joint activities with private sector

Walk or cycle to work days / bus for a day

Mobilize and incentivize employees to use active transport modes to get to work and back. This could be individually or corporately walking en masse from a fixed point or taking a bus provided by the company. Make sure that the mode of transport and route is safe.

Involved: management, employees. May require marshalls or local authority approvals. Could be a media opportunity.

Cycle workshops

For employees or community members to bring their bikes for maintenance and check ups. Also suitable for community groups and NGOs.

Step challenge

People record their steps or distances walked or cycled for a week. This could be a corporate challenge which could link to a social media or fundraising/matching challenge.

Materials

StreetsforLife-Logo-2023-orange 7th UN Global Road Safety Week

Logo

Download the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week Logo from WHO’s website HERE.

Social media banners

Download social media banners from WHO’s website HERE.

Signboards/social media banners from the Alliance

The Alliance has produced some additional signboards/banners.

Customizable materials

Update with your own messages using these Powerpoint versions of the banners HERE.

Stencils

The Alliance has created a street stencil that you can use for street campaigns with temporary or permanent spray paint. Find it HERE.

Small grants

A limited number of small grants of up to US$1,000 are available to support Alliance members’ UN Global Road Safety Week campaigns. Successful applications will have a clear and specific advocacy ask for an evidence-based intervention to support a safe shift to walking, cycling, and/or public transport, such as 30km/h speed limits, lowering speed limits, traffic calming measures, or pedestrian facilities.

Please ensure you read the ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA carefully and attend a WALKTHROUGH SESSION before applying. Applications must be received by 16 April 2023. Apply HERE.

APPLY FOR A SMALL GRANT

Eligibility

  • You must be a full member of the Alliance;
  • You must be an active member of the Alliance (measured by engagement with the Alliance’s offerings);
  • Your campaign must have a clear advocacy aim that targets a specific evidence-based action that enables a safe modal shift;
  • Your campaign must engage at least one decision maker (local or national);
  • Applications that utilize the Accountability Toolkit in their campaign preparations and follow up and which have a clear media strategy will be prioritized. 

Walkthroughs

The Alliance will hold a series of walkthroughs for members to orient them for the UN Global Road Safety Week, discussing the theme, advocacy asks and activity ideas, materials and tools, and the small grant application requirements. Please sign up for your preferred session below:

Read more

Read more on the official WHO website for the campaign: 7th UN Global Road Safety Week (who.int)