December 2, 2022
PLEIKU CITY, Vietnam – December 2, 2022
Around the world, we see young people rallying to protect our earth and their future. They are not only safeguarding our dwindling trees, air, and natural resources, but they are also fighting to save their lives and their home planet. In an ever-altering world, our youth are becoming the green mobility champions that we all need to become to create a healthier future for everyone.
Launch of the ‘Bike to School’ Campaign in Pleiku City, Vietnam
A healthier future begins with small steps leading to significant changes. As part of our model safe school zones program, Slow Zones, Safe Zones, we are launching the ‘Bike to school’ campaign providing 85 new bicycles for low-income students to be able to bike to and from school. This year, our program is increasingly encouraging students and their families to use sustainable means of transport – paving the way for healthier and greener cities as well as promoting safe and sustainable mobility. This also aligns with Vietnam’s National Green Growth Strategy 2021-2030.
The objective of the ‘Bike to School’ campaign is to engage students in healthy mobility across 19 secondary schools, aiming to reach a total of 18,135 students. The ‘Bike to school’ Campaign will kick off with a ceremony to welcome delegates and invited guests. Esteemed guests and representatives will be in attendance from the Traffic Safety Committee, Pleiku City People’s Committee, the Department of Education and Training, and key opinion leaders.
Following the students’ performance and remarks by the donors and the Traffic Safety Committee representatives, AIP Foundation will present 85 low-income students with a new bicycle. The bicycles have been generously donated by our network of individual supporters and corporate donors. Once the students have received their bicycles, they will engage in road safety games to learn practical and life-saving skills on how to be safe on the road.
In addition to this kick-off ceremony, the ‘Bike to school’ campaign will include a safety bike training tour, a featured ‘biking to school’ month, a biking virtual marathon, and a closing event that includes tactical urbanism to demonstrate safe bicycle facilities.
“We are delighted to see this green initiative coming to our city in Pleiku. We want to build a model city for safe school zones in Vietnam. This bike campaign brings us one step closer to making our ‘green plateau for health’ a reality in Gia Lai province,” shared Hieu Phan, Chief of Office of Traffic Safety Department of Gia Lai province.
The lasting legacy of the Slow Zones, Safe Zones program
The overall purpose of the Slow Zones, Safe Zones program is to reduce road crash injuries and fatalities in school zones. Our work has demonstrated that the students’ journeys to and from school become safer through implementation of traffic calming measures, the reduction of posted speed limits in school zones, the application of interactive learning through an e-curriculum, and public awareness campaigns combined with the enforcement of new posted speed limits.
In recognition of the collaborative efforts for the Slow Zones, Safe Zones program, the Prince Michael International Road Traffic Safety Award 2020 was presented to the National Traffic Safety Committee and the Ministry of Education and Training. The International Vision Zero for Youth Leadership Award 2022 was presented to the Gia Lai Province People’s Committee and Pleiku City People’s Committee.
“It is our pleasure to congratulate the national and local governments in Vietnam for their successful work in transforming Pleiku into a safer and greener city. We are proud to work with AIP Foundation, who have been instrumental in implementing the program in this region,” shared Kim Beng Lua, Senior Officer at the Global Road Safety Partnership.
Creating a healthier tomorrow – together!
The Slow Zones, Safe Zones program, which aims to improve the safety of students’ journeys to and from schools, is supported by Fondation Botnar, the Global Road Safety Partnership, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), and the International Road Assessment Programme, and aligns with the Global Plan of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. Similarly, Vietnam’s current National Road Safety Strategy supports meeting the goals of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, ensuring maximum traffic safety for school zones around the country.
Pleiku City has long been the home of our Slow Zones, Safe Zones program. Following the program’s successes, including the 30km/h speed limits during pick-up and drop-off times, we are proud to expand the program to include healthy transportation alternatives that bring Pleiku closer to being a walkable city.
Mirjam Sidik, Chief Executive Officer at AIP Foundation, shared, “As we engage with the youth in Pleiku City, we hope that they in turn will influence their families and friends to ride their bikes, creating a safer and greener environment for generations to come.”
