Global Youth Coalition Member Feature: Mariam Kukava

1. Where are you connected? How did you first get involved in road safety? How long have you been working in the road safety and sustainable mobility field? 

In 2017, when I connected my life to road safety and sustainable mobility, it was a student job where I wanted to acquire new skills and experience and I was a citizen who was very frustrated with a city crowded with cars, polluted air, disadvantaged vulnerable road users and of course the daily news on lots of deaths and injuries from road accidents. 

I went into the depths of the problems and I found that for obvious reasons in Georgia not so many people are aware and struggling to eliminate problem regarding road safety and sustainable mobility, whereas in many low and middle-income countries the number of road traffic fatalities and serious injuries is very high and no one thinks that meeting growing aspirations for mobility has the potential to improve their lives — their health, their environment, and their quality of life.

Over time, this student job has become something I am passionate about. I felt a responsibility and I realized that this issue calls for urgent remedial action and this is an area where the efforts made would inevitably yield results in saving people’s lives and other values. And I have had many examples of this at the national level as well. I was very lucky to find myself in a team of Partnership for Road Safety Foundation where road safety is issue members are passionate about and are the main actors in almost every development in the country in the field of road safety and sustainable mobility. 

For three years, I have been working in the field of road safety and sustainable mobility and I am trying to contribute to improving the situation as possible. First of all, for me, as a lawyer, road safety and sustainable mobility is a human rights priority. We all have the right to be safe to move, not to be killed or injured, as the result of an avoidable car accident, not to live in a fear that something bad will happen when moving on the streets. Feeling an injustice deeply is my powerful motivator for implementing road safety activities, in the areas of road safety management, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer road users, and post-crash response.

2. Tell us about the work you’re doing now

I work actively to promote road safety, sustainable urban transport, public transport, walking, and cycling through research, advocacy, educational and awareness-raising projects in Georgia. I have participated in many successful wide-scale campaigns and targeted stakeholder engagement through multipronged approaches. I have been working with them to mobilize and promote cross-sector cooperation, to encourage decision-makers in Georgia to re-imagine streets as safe, shared, and healthy places. It takes hard work to challenge traditional views, but we often succeed.

Recent projects I have been working as an Advocacy and Communications Specialist:

Monitoring of the reform on Periodic Technical Inspection of Motor Vehicle - The project aims to monitor the reform on Periodic Technical Inspection of Motor Vehicle, to evaluate national legislation in relation to obligations under the Association Agreement regarding the EU Directives and international conventions. The main focus of the project is to monitor the reform of the periodic technical inspections through civic engagement and deliver results-oriented recommendations to decision-makers. A special online platform has been created, the first part of which is a visual map showing all the periodic technical inspection centers in Georgia. Citizens can find the center on the map and provide information about various violations and gaps to the web-platform administrator. The information received will be checked by the platform administrator and reported to the non-governmental sector.

International Tourism and Road Safety in Georgia – Country Report - Aim of the project is to identify the importance of road safety for tourists and sustainable tourism development in Georgia and to identify responsibilities and provide recommendations to local authorities and the tourism industry on road safety. Data collection and description of the main characteristics of international tourism in Georgia; Collection and analysis of tourists’ road safety data; National survey on international tourists’ perceptions about road safety and mobility in Georgia; Definition of recommendations for improving tourist road safety; Meetings regarding School tourism, Intensive media coverage

Promoting prevention of asbestos risks considering the experience of EU member states - The aim of the project was to reduce pollution from the transport sector and create a safe working environment. Activities performed: Evaluating national legislation, identifying asbestos-free brake pads on the market, inspecting asbestos dust emission from vehicles in the capital, and raising public awareness and advocate for these issues.

Safe School Zones and Road Safety Knowledge for Georgian Children - The project included the creation of safe school zones through the infrastructure improvement, increase of the children’s awareness and knowledge through the road safety lessons, and an advocacy campaign for building the safe school zones in Tbilisi and regions. The training was carried out to increase understanding of road safety risks specific to the school zones including incident statistics, common traffic incident causes, key road risks faced locally and nationally, pedestrian visibility, and road safety regulations that apply to children. With the support of Tbilisi City Hall, Safe School Zones were arranged.

3. Why did you join the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety? 

At the Assembly, I met young leaders from many countries around the world who impressed me with their willingness and readiness to fight. I thought that these were the people I had to unite with for a common goal to claim our space. And Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety really created an opportunity that brings onboard youth leaders who share a common concern, promotes similar actions, and speaks as a powerful group with one voice. I share the vision of the Coalition and I’m sure that the noble enthusiasm of these young people, the restless aspiration are the greatest force for progress. I also wanted to be a part of this progress. Gained knowledge, skills, and network provided by the Coalition will help me to work for addressing existing transport challenges in Georgia. It would enable me to initiate and participate more actively and meaningfully to create favorable conditions for all road users. 

4. What are your comments on the Coalition? Its activities? Its opportunities? 

There is enormous power when a group of passionate people with the same interests gets together to work toward the same goals, especially when they are youth full of energy. Resources and opportunities provided by the Coalition is a great source of support for youth to maximize their impact and reach full potential. It creates a platform for collaboration and partnership of people tirelessly working towards safety and sustainability, further strengthening the meaningful involvement of youth voices. 

5. Any messages for people who have not yet joined the coalition? 

It is not easy to accumulate the amount of influence required for changes as an individual, but as a group of thoughtful, committed youth, we can multiply our own influence with the influence of others to shift power relations.

Our union is an opportunity to make the world a safer place together, to act locally and think globally. Despite the background differences, we will be able to work as one and turn these differences into strengths of resilience, creativity, and innovation. 

Unity is strength itself, together we can do so much!

Mariam is from Georgia and she was one of the delegates during the 2nd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety