9 November 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR’s Road Safety Global Training Initiative successfully concluded its Learning Webinar Series on Management Practices for Safer Roads, reaching 895 participants from the public and private sectors, academia and NGOs from 89 countries around the globe.

The Webinar Series included six learning online activities held between 17 June and 3 November 2020 in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese languages to cater different regions of the world.

The learning activities were hosted in partnership with renowned organizations including the International Road Safety Federation (IRF);  the Royal Automobile Club of Spain (RACE),  the Regional Center in support of the Private Sector (CR/SP); the Andean Community (CAN); United Cities and Local Governments – Regions; the World Family Organization (WFO), the Federation of Industries of the State of Parana (FIEP);  the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS); and the International Training Centres for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL) from Atlanta, USA; Bogota, Colombia; Curitiba, Brazil; Madrid, Spain; Quito, Ecuador; and Shanghai, China. The Management Practices for Safer Roads Toolkit and the Learning Webinar Series was made possible through the support of Ab InBev.

Each activity provided a platform to present a practical methodology aimed at improving highest-risk roads through the implementation of targeted interventions including engineering improvements such as footpaths, safety barriers, bicycle lanes and paved shoulders, just to mention a few, as well as educational related measures aimed at preventing deaths and injuries caused by road traffic crashes. Case studies were featured throughout the Webinar Series, including projects implements in Zacatecas, Mexico; Sao Paulo, Brazil, and others.

The Webinar Series concluded on 3 November with the sixth event hosted in partnership with SASS, CIFAL Shanghai and CIFAL Atlanta, which introduced the Management practices for Safer Roads Toolkit and its applications across cities to over 100 participants from China. On this occasion, the Chinese version of the Toolkit was launched and made available at no cost to anyone interested in road safety. 

Mr. WANG Genxiang, Director of CIFAL Shanghai stressed that “the 5G era has accelerated the construction and management of intelligent driving transportation facilities, and it is also going to facilitate intelligent driving equipment, big data and the Internet, to provide new solutions for the improvement of road traffic safety. At the same time, careful research, discussion, and experience sharing are critical in order to achieve good results. This virtual webinar on management practices for safer roads toolkit is therefore a good occasion for everyone to study and exchange best practices".