Claiming Our Space at the HLM: what events we’re taking part in

We are going to be among the organizations flying to New York to take part in the UN High-Level Meeting on Road Safety this June! Our youth leaders are claiming their space and are elevating the call for meaningful youth participation in road safety to local and global leaders and decision-makers. “Stop blaming us, start protecting and engaging us.” 

More than representing young people around the world, our youth delegates are playing active roles during the High-Level Meeting to push the youth agenda forward. We have three main events; (1) an Global Art Exhibition, (2) an official side-event and (3) participation during the sessions for the Meeting. 

The art exhibition will kick things off. Featuring six pieces created by our young artists and will take place at the UN Headquarters from the 27th of June to July of 1st. It will present the results of the #ClaimingOurSpace campaign through an interactive and engaging art installation.

Through the exhibition, decision-makers and attendees will be able to interact with our young leaders to discuss and make commitments to meaningfully engage and involve youth. 

The exhibit, curated by Create2030’s Lisa Russel, aims to create a narrative through artistic mediums about the impact road crashes have on the lives of young people and the urgent need for meaningful youth participation in road safety policy making. 

The next level of participation comes through our official side-event titled “stop blaming us, start engaging us!” set for the 30th of June from 1:15 PM to 2:45 PM at Sputnik Space in the UN Headquarters. The session seeks to promote meaningful youth participation as a standard at all stages and levels of the road safety and sustainable mobility policymaking process. It will also promote an intergenerational dialogue between youth, government authorities, and multilateral agencies to discuss youth participation in the implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. 

Another goal of the side-event is to launch, disseminate, and promote a policymaker's toolkit created by our youth leaders that will guide local and global leaders and decision-makers about when and how to meaningfully engage with youth.

The last event includes our youth leadership board member, Estiara Ellizar from Indonesia, participating in an official session during the Meeting. She will take part in a multi-stakeholder panel on the 1st of July at the UN Headquarters. The panel will talk about mobilizing stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the Global Plan to halve the number of road-related deaths and injuries by 2030. 

If you’re in New York and happen to be by the UN building, pay us a visit! We’ll be glad to have you check out our exhibition and our sessions!