VIDA URGENTE: Youth Leading the Change
Changing a culture is a major challenge – no doubt about it. It does not happen overnight or by decree.
Changing the road safety culture is a challenge in itself. It involves engineering, legal effort, and education. In the South of Brazil, road safety is our main goal at the Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga Foundation through the Vida Urgente program.
Young people are an important part of change. Although we are the most affected by the “motorized war”, we are often disregarded in awareness-raising and engagement efforts. There is a need for us young people to be equipped with capacity building tools so that we can lead the change of the tragic reality of road crashes.
Photo from Vida Urgente Facebook
Young people are often tagged as careless and irresponsible but the truth is that we do not fall for small talk. When we realize that one is talking seriously, we join the cause hands-on!
This is clear in the Vida Urgente Program where twenty thousand (20,000) road safety advocates are made largely up of young people.
What does Vida Urgente do? A lot of things! An example;
Every year, thousands of students attend the Vida Urgente on Stage theatrical presentations.
Through Urgent School, we engage hundreds of students who, in a single day, take to the streets and avenues of Porto Alegre and cities in the countryside to carry the message of preserving and valuing life.
Vida Urgente has no secrets; we have projects for young people, with young people. They are the real protagonists.
Photo from Vida Urgente Facebook
It may be difficult to change culture but it is clear to see that the youth are leading the change toward a better future. For instance, in the twenty-four (24) years since the Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga Foundation, we have seen that the youth have taken road safety into their own hands.
They are showing responsibility in the way that they put on seatbelts and encourage others to do the same, wear safety gear when riding motorcycles, and ensure that responsible drivers are the ones behind the wheel.
A recent study carried out by the Foundation, in partnership with PUC University, attested that 87% of young people in southern Brazil condemn drunk driving and work hard to ensure that this is prevented and avoided.
Photo from Vida Urgente Facebook
Changes are starting to happen.
Our city, Porto Alegre - the capital of Rio Grande do Sul - actually reached the goal of the Decade of Action for Road Safety, instituted by the UN, registering more than a 50% reduction in traffic fatalities.
But we want more: we want to realize Vision Zero!
The Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga Foundation expresses its faith in us, young people, believing in our truth, in our joy, and in our ability to dream and to make a change.
Written by Thiago Gruner