Coalition joins ESCWA workshop on seatbelt use and child restraints

Youth leadership board member and local actions winner, Sana’a Khasawneh, joined the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Ministries of interior and Transport in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in a workshop focused on reducing road deaths and injuries in Jordan through increasing the use of safety belts and child restraints. The event was funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund. 

The workshop addressed the current situation of road safety in Jordan, focusing on the existing regulatory and legislative framework for seatbelts and child restraints. The workshop gathered stakeholders from public and private stakeholders to gather and discuss the experiences and best practices of different countries and agencies. 

The workshop followed the objectives of demonstrating the commitment of stakeholders to support the project’s activities of implementing the use of seatbelts and child restraints, strengthening the participation and cooperation in the implementation of project activities by concerned authorities according to their respective competencies, and in preparing a joint action call with the participation of concerned authorities to reduce the number of road-related deaths and injuries in the region. 

Sana’a’s intervention focused on the role of youth in traffic safety between symbolism and empowerment. She talked about how YOURS – Youth for Road Safety and the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety are empowering young people to take action against the biggest killer of youth worldwide; road crashes. 

She also shared global and local statistics about how road crashes affect young people and how it’s important to start creating a system that protects youth instead of blames them. 

She shared how the Coalition provides young people with the tools and opportunities needed to amplify their impact in addressing road safety concerns in their countries.

The workshop also covered international best practices of seat belt and child restraint regulatory framework, the experience of Lafarge Concrete Jordan in the field of traffic safety, the youth model of traffic safety in Jordan, injury prevention for more conscious and empowered school children in Jordan, and more. 

The workshop seeks to result in; a better understanding of project activities and identification of stakeholder interest and responsibilities, building consensus among concerned authorities on necessary measures to fill the gaps of the current regulatory framework and obtaining the support of concerned authorities to implement the interventions discussed.