Thoughtful, committed citizens for safe mobility
Every year, 1.2 million lives are lost in road accidents which are the leading cause of death among young people aged 5 to 29. Many accidents happen on the way to school. However, safe mobility around the school contributes to quality education by facilitating student access and reducing the risk of accidents along the way.
The VIA programme for safe mobility helps young people better understand and manage the risks and dangers associated with their journey to school by giving them the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to act as ambassadors for change in their community.
A central aspect of the proposed approach is therefore the direct participation of young people and the rest of community actors in the development of actions and activities aimed at bringing about change. Young people's participation is a right recognized by Articles 12 and 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. (UNICEF, UNICEF Innocents Cecile Aptel)
Young people must be the protagonists of a process in which they explore the multiple meanings and determinants of safe mobility and, accompanied by supportive adults, identify and launch actions to improve safety and quality of life for themselves, their peers and their local community.
VIA thus contributes to the development of knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviors addressed by the UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development and is more specifically the development of their social skills for the “governance” of the contexts of their daily lives, their self-esteem and social capital within the community. (Stefania Giannini UNESCO)
Education for safe mobility does not require radical change in school programmes and is part of Education for Sustainable Development to attain SDG 3.6 for reducing the number of deaths and injuries due to road accidents. road in the world, SDG 4.7 so that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to promote sustainable development and SDG 11.2 to ensure access for all to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems.
“Safe mobility ambassadors” are trained in each participating school (in 2024 in 30 countries) to design and implement actions that will raise awareness for safe mobility among their peers.
The examples below demonstrate the commitment of young people and their ability to transform the environment in which they live, play and study.
In Angola, in the district of Ramiros, new pedestrian crossings have been painted on the EN100 road to protect access to the school. An intersection without signals was completely modified in Badaro in Lebanon and a similar action was initiated in Fanar. Ambassadors from a school in Abuja, Nigeria, located along the main Nyanya-Karshi Road, had shown the way, as had those from school no. 117 in Bucharest, who promoted “more green and less red” during school hours. entry and exit.
Safety also rhymes with solidarity. In Chennai in India, the youngest students walk out of school under the guidance of older students. In Madagascar, an action to clean gutters at the initiative of the entire educational community makes it possible to free up a secure space on the sides of the roads.
Peer education is first and foremost a dialogue between equals and child-to-child communication techniques are at the heart of the successes of health education in many countries. Creativity is also an essential skill for prevention. The Essahel college in the Casablanca area (Morocco) is at the origin of artistic actions inspired by street theater like their counterparts at the Makuburi school in Tanzania. The actions carried out in Argentina highlight the capacity of young people to debate in the most diverse places including the Museum of Modern Art in Buenos Aires. In Senegal, “small pedestrians and big risks” becomes the slogan of a video festival organized in a cinema. In Lebanon the refrain “road safety is essential, road safety means being responsible!” goes viral on social media. Everywhere, prevention posters created by young people are popping up on the walls of schools and surrounding areas. In Malawi as in Togo, community radio allows young ambassadors to disseminate their ideas beyond their school.
The vulnerability of young people is further increased in countries in conflict. The action carried out by our partners in Libya or Lebanon, for example, is all the more remarkable and essential because safety has multiple meanings in the daily lives of young people. In certain neighborhoods, road violence is a reflection of generalized violence occurring around schools, as young people from a school in Rio de Janeiro, engaged in awareness-raising actions for community actors, remind us. Other vulnerabilities appear such as that linked to climate change which, for example, prevents a VIA school in South Africa from continuing its actions due to repeated flooding.
The involvement of local decision-makers and stakeholders in education, culture and social development is crucial to conveying the message of young people. The ambassadors of the Baham bilingual high school in Cameroon raise awareness among young sellers or motorcycle taxis by intervening in the local market and involving the local authorities of the Hauts Plateaux. In Guinea Conakry, VIA ambassadors launched a debate with Ratoma town hall on the security of their travel. In Mexico, a live debate on Facebook at the initiative of UNESCO gives the floor to VIA ambassadors. In France, young people from the Icam La Roche-sur-Yon production school involve the departmental authorities in the prevention of urban rodeos. In Decines, the Segpa class at George Brassens college discovers the risks in their neighborhood that are often made invisible by road infrastructures thought to be very well designed but are ineffective in the face of force of habit. Road accidents represent the leading cause of death at work in France, which explains why the major apprenticeship training and integration networks are joining the VIA programme. In Uganda, VIA ambassadors mobilize schools and churches to raise awareness among as many community stakeholders as possible. In Ivory Coast as in Equatorial Guinea and many other countries, volunteering extends to TotalEnergies employees who give their time to support the VIA ambassadors.
The impact of an educational programme is also measured by the dynamics that are put in place in each country to create resources adapted to each context. In India, a new manual strengthens existing open access resources. In Malaysia, awareness is changing scale thanks to digital technology by bringing the VIA programme in conjunction with the Ministry to its elearning platform. In Argentina, group work techniques enrich existing methods of citizenship education. In Mexico, social mapping adds a new dimension to the observation and recommendations phases proposed by the programme. In Brazil, new skills in social entrepreneurship are strengthening the training of ambassadors.
The VIA programme finds its inspiration in multiple educational innovations that make it possible to think about mobility education in a “radically” different way. Sugata Mitra encourages us to open a “hole in the wall” to break down the barrier that traditionally separates formal education from non-formal education, the school from the rest of the community. Farida Lambay, founder of the NGO Pratham Education Foundation reminds us that urban planning must take into account the needs of the most vulnerable young people. Patrick Weil founder of Libraries Without Borders encourages us to strengthen educational and cultural actions in the most vulnerable areas. Vicky Colbert, creator of “New Schools” in Colombia (Fundación Escuela Nueva) reminds us of the importance of strengthening the participation and autonomy of young people, particularly in rural areas. The UNESCO-Hamdan Prize (of which ADPP Angola is one of the finalists) recalls the importance of teacher training on all educational subjects including gender equality, nutrition and sustainable development. It is in this broader context that the VIA programme fits.
The VIA educational programme for safe mobility fulfills its mission as closely as possible to local communities. It thus responds to another essential objective of sustainable development - SDG 17 - by promoting effective partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society.
The VIA programme - created by TotalEnergies Foundation and Michelin Corporate Foundation cannot exist without a formidable operational partnership with NGOs committed to human development, the right to education and mobility and without the daily involvement of the affiliates of the TotalEnergies Company and their collaborators.
The VIA 2024 finals, which will begin on November 26, 2024, will highlight these partnerships and this commitment. They bring together ambassadors from each country chosen for the excellence of their actions in order to share good practices and form a network of “activists” for safe mobility.
In each country, a specific grant is allocated by the TotalEnergies Foundation for scaling up the best awareness-raising action, thus strengthening the exchange of good practices.
The anthropologist Margaret Mead told us: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
The VIA ambassadors of Senegal respond in their own way by taking on thelegend of the little hummingbird: “One day, says the legend, there was a huge forest fire. All the terrified, dismayed animals watched helplessly as the disaster unfolded. Only the little hummingbird was active, fetching a few drops with its beak to throw on the fire. After a moment, the armadillo, annoyed by this ridiculous agitation, said to him: “Hummingbird! Aren't you crazy? It’s not with these drops of water that you’re going to put out the fire! » And the hummingbird replied: “I know that, but I am doing my part. “We all have a role to play!”
