PLEIKU CITY, Vietnam – March 31, 2023

Around the world, we see young people rallying to protect our planet. They are quickly becoming the green mobility champions that we all need to be to create a healthier future for everyone. Students and youth in Pleiku are no exception as they participate in the latest healthy activities of the Slow Zones, Safe Zones program. 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. Throughout the beginning of 2023, we have been hosting bicycle safety training sessions across 19 project schools in Pleiku City, launched the ‘Bike to school’ month encouraging students to bike to school, and hosted a bike marathon in March.

Bike training safety sessions across 19 schools

Following the launch of the green and healthy bike campaign, students participated in a total of 71 bike training safety sessions across 19 schools in Pleiku. To aid them in learning safe biking skills, students received a Bike Safety training notebook. To date, over 18,000 safety notebooks have been distributed.

Official launch of the ‘Bike to School’ Campaign

Once the students had been trained on biking safety, they took the lead in being green champions by participating in the ‘Bike to School’ month. Throughout February, the Pleiku Bureau of Education and Training issued a document to encourage students to bike to school, especially on Thursdays for the duration of the 2023 school year, promoting improved health and a less polluted environment. All of the students were able to count the kilometers traveled toward the big bike marathon taking place in March.

Bike Marathon Month in March for healthier lives

All the work of the past two months led students to the big bike marathon event in March. This month, over 2000 students were invited to participate in the 25-day bike race recording the number of kilometers traveled. The students rode their bikes from checkpoint to checkpoint, picking up stamps in their bike cards as they completed their trips. The winners of the bike marathon will be announced at the Community Bike day to be held in April 2023.

Creating a healthier tomorrow – together!

TheSlow Zones, Safe Zonesprogram, which aims to improve the safety of students’ journeys to and from schools, is supported by Fondation Botnar, the Global Road Safety Partnership, and the International Road Assessment Programme, and aligns with the Global Plan of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.

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.”