AIP Foundation traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to present findings on the current status and challenges of traffic safety measures across Southeast Asia at the 5th Global Interactive Forum on Traffic & Safety (GIFTS) 2019, sponsored by the International Association of Traffic & Safety Sciences (IATSS). 

AIP Foundation CEO, Mirjam Sidik, discussed the impact of the socioeconomic development of Southeast Asian countries on the current road crash crisis, and discussed AIP Foundation’s work in Vietnam to address ineffective helmet legislation. Audience members were very interested in learning about how AIP Foundation adapts its communications and advocacy campaigns to different contexts in order to target road safety behavior across countries and cultures.

In looking towards the future, Ms. Sidik called for the necessity of increased political leadership, greater integration and collaboration across sectors, and greater financial investments in order to reach SDG target 3.6 by 2030, which aims to halve the global deaths by road crashes.

Other speakers from the conference included representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), JICA, and WRI, who presented on urban design and transportation.