SONGKHLA, Thailand – March 1, 2023

Today, the provincial Government of Songkhla and the non-profit AIP Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to officially establish a partnership pioneering a new road safety model for secondary school students under the Chevron Street Wise program. Over 50 stakeholders were present at the signing ceremony highlighting the commitment of local authorities to increase road safety throughout Songkhla Province in Thailand.\nSocial distancing restrictions had delayed the signing ceremony since 2021. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Woranari Chaloem School in Songkhla became the first secondary school to join the Chevron Street Wise program in Thailand in 2021. That same year, the school celebrated its 100-year anniversary.

A renewed path for safety ahead

After the signing ceremony, there was a presentation on the program highlights so far as well as an opportunity to discuss the upcoming renewal of the project covering the years 2023-2025.\n\n2020 – 2021 Highlights safeguarding our next generation

Woranari Chaloem School is located in a city area with dense traffic. This unsafe environment highly impacts the commuting of vulnerable road users, including school children and pedestrians. Students come to schools by different means – 20% have their own motorcycles, 30% walk to school, and 50% use public transport. During its implementation of the 2020 – 2021 school year, the project was implemented at 12 schools in Songkhla province and directly benefited 7,809 students, 504 teachers, and thousands of people from nearby communities. As part of the program, road safety ambassadors and master teachers were invited to attend extracurricular activities at target schools. These activities provided students to explore and learn more about road safety, empowering them to be smart road users.

One of the biggest highlights of the program year was a five-day student training session on the newly launched e-books on road safety in June 2022. The e-books on road safety are the newest innovative tool of the Chevron Street Wise program. The e-books provide an opportunity for students to explore and learn more about essential road safety topics, including helmet safety, pedestrian safety, seat selection when traveling on a bus or public transportation, and riding safely and regulations for driving licenses.

Safer mobility with the Chevron Street Wise program in Thailand

Chevron Thailand has partnered with AIP Foundation since 2014 to implement the Chevron Street Wise program to create a safer environment for road users – especially young children – through education, awareness-raising, as well as stakeholders and community engagement. During the project’s implementation, more than 8000 students demonstrated improved road safety knowledge and skills, and approximately 1,500,000 parents, teachers, and community members benefited from road safety education and communication activities.\nThe Chevron Street Wise program is inherently aligned with the Global Plan as part of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030 and Thailand’s National Road Safety plan. At the core of this program, all activities engage our youth to be a part of the solution to empower their community to be safer road users, thus giving them access to safe mobility.

“Young students all across Thailand are the key to ensuring that the future generations have access to safe streets and journeys to school. Our youths are becoming ambassadors for safe mobility through the Chevron Street Wise program. We are proud to witness them paving the new path toward a fairer future for their community,” shared Ratana H. Winther, Chairperson of AIP Foundation Thailand.

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