HO CHI MINH City, Vietnam - October 11, 2013

From October 9-11 the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation’s Vietnam National Child Helmet Campaign “Children also need a helmet”, supported by Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), organized a training workshop for journalists and reporters to increase their knowledge of the issues of road safety and child helmet use. The three-day workshop was held at the Silver Creek City Resort in Ho Chi Minh City.

The workshop was developed by AIP Foundation to build capacity among members of the media by providing background on the global crisis of road injuries and fatalities, disseminating information about helmet regulations and the level of helmet use among adults and children in Vietnam, and sharing best practices for increasing awareness of road safety issues from journalists around the world.

Activities were organized to enable journalists and reporters to maximize their publications’ roles in road safety behavior change communications. Trainings covered the issues of child helmet use from many angles. Talks were given by parents of survivors of road crashes, a doctor specializing in traumatic brain injury, and the creator of the award-winning road safety documentary “In Retrospect”. Writing workshops and communications strategy sessions were held, and participants were invited to join a forum hosted on the AIP Foundation’s child helmet website where journalists can post and discuss articles covering road safety and helmet use. The workshop was funded by GRSP, with financial assistance from the Bloomberg Philanthropies.