HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – March 20, 2025

Small steps lead to big changes, and across Vietnam, safe school zones for every student are becoming a reality thanks to the Safe School Zones Guide Vietnam (SSZ Guide). The objective of the Safe School Zone Guide was to create a technical design guide which provides local governments across Vietnam with comprehensive and clear parameters to reference when designing new school projects and assessing the safety of their current school zones. The SSZ Guide has proven to be a reliable blueprint to address on a larger scale the safe mobility issue around schools across the country. As the journey continues, AIP Foundation is proud to celebrate 5 years of impact with the Safe School Zones Guide program. To mark this milestone, AIP Foundation, in collaboration with the FIA Foundation and Child Health Initiative, hosted a case study webinar highlighting the impact of the SSZ Guide in protecting students and school communities across Vietnam.

The global webinar ‘Transforming School Safety – the Impact of Vietnam’s Safe School Zones Guide’ welcomed over 80 representatives from the civil society sector, governments, fellow NGOs, international organizations, the World Health Organization, FIA Clubs, Universities, Academia, and Development banks. The webinar provided an opportunity for participants to:

• learn more directly from the Vietnam program team implementing the Safe School Zones Guide.
• listen to powerful stories from people and communities who have participated in the program.
• follow a discussion panel with the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, the National Traffic Safety Committee, the World Health Organization in Vietnam, AIP Foundation and FIA Foundation representatives.

The global webinar proved to be a resounding success, thanks to the strong participation and engagement of attendees from around the world. The event provided a valuable platform for sharing key insights, effective strategies, and lessons learned in the ongoing effort to create safer school zones. The Safe School Zones Guide marks a fundamental shift in how we safeguard our future generation. To elevate the SSZ Guide from a reference document to a legal framework, with support from FIA Foundation, AIP Foundation is planning to engage with the World Bank to support Vietnam’s Department for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) to develop a Basic Standard. This Basic Standard will mandate compliance for schools on national highways under DRVN jurisdiction, marking a critical step towards integrating these standards into national regulations and protecting students across the country.