Life saving steps

Implementing pedestrian safety measures is cost effective, and many of the solutions are simple. It can be introducing pavements (84% of roads surveyed by iRAP have no pedestrian provision); providing safe crossing points; ‘calming’ streets with traffic humps, rumble strips and chicanes; and lowering vehicle speed limits in areas where traffic and pedestrians share the road space.

The world on its feet

To highlight the need to prioritise safe walking, the United Nations will hold a Global Road Safety Week on 6-12 May 2013 themed around pedestrian safety. The Week will be an important milestone in the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, which has the goal of preventing 5 million road traffic deaths by 2020.

To support UN Global Road Safety Week, the Zenani Mandela Campaign, led by the Mandela Family, the Make Roads Safe Campaign and the Road Safety Fund, is launching ‘The Long Short Walk’.

Let’s walk together

The Long Short Walk is a fun activity with a serious aim. We want you to take a short walk in your community, take a video or photograph and send it to us.

It can be your walk to school or work, your favourite walk, or even just a stroll to the corner shop. If you have a dangerous road or junction nearby we’d be interested to see it. We’ll upload these short walks online and combine them into one Long Walk, providing a snapshot of streets and journeys all across the world. The Long Short Walk will end on 11th May 2013 (the second anniversary of the start of the Decade of Action) when we take a short walk up some of the most famous streets of power in the world to deliver a call to action to world leaders: prioritise safe walking for all as part of a new global Sustainable Development Goal.

So join our campaign for sustainable change and use your own two feet to walk for safe roads for all!

Download our guide to Taking Part in The Long Short Walk >

Upload your photos and videos to The Long Short Walk Flickr group >

Upload your photos and videos to our Facebook page >

Other ways you can support the campaign:

I’m walking for…let us know on Facebook or Twitter (#Zenani) why you are joining the Long Short Walk. Or print off our signboard to make a visual statement.
Write to the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, who is co-chairing a high level UN panel on sustainable development, and tell him why we need a Sustainable Development Goal for Safe and Sustainable Transport.
Wear a Zenani Band and the Decade of Action ‘Tag’.
Donate to the Road Safety Fund. We’re providing grants to projects that are protecting child pedestrians on roads around the world.

The Zenani Mandela Campaign

About the Zenani Campaign

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1000 young people under the age of 25 die every day on the world's roads. Unlike Zenani Mandela, most are not born into a famous family. But, just like Zenani, they are much loved and greatly missed by their families.

The Zenani Campaign is an initiative in support of the UN's Decade of Action for Road Safey. Together we can save millions of lives.

Download the Zenani Booklet (1.5mb PDF) >

www.makeroadssafe.org/zenani | www.decadeofaction.org/zenani

Zenani

"Zenani, my only daughter, celebrated her thirteenth birthday on 9th June 2010. Just two days later, returning home from the FIFA World Cup Kick Off Concert in Soweto, she was killed in a car crash. Her unfortunate and untimely passing was a tragedy shared by millions across the globe.

On the same day that I lost Zenani, a thousand other families also lost a child on the world's roads. This disaster continues to rob us of 1000 young people every single day.

Now, in the name of Zenani, we are launching this campaign to raise awareness of this appalling toll of death and injury, and to urge support for the UN's Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.

Other parents must not go through the pain that I am suffering and will continue to suffer. Now is the time for positive action. Every life we save will be a precious victory".

Zoleka Mandela

Making roads safe for young people

Children and young people should have the right to a safe environment. Governments can do more to provide it. During the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 we want to see:

Investment in safe footpaths, cycle-ways and crossing points, on streets with lower speed limits, particularly around schools. Transport and planning policies that put people first.
Legislation, where required, and real enforcement of seat belt, child seat and booster seat laws, and tougher action to prevent drink driving and speeding
In those countries where motorcycles are the main mode of family transportation, better protection for child passengers, including child helmet standards and enforced legislation
Graduated driver licencing to help young novice drivers develop steadily and safely; and minimum safety standards for all cars.

Our commitment to action

Nelson Mandela reads our Rio+20 Commitment for Safer Roads for Children

Under the banner of the Zenani Campaign global partners are committing to take action to prevent child road injury. Announced at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, our joint Commitment promotes safe and sustainable transport with a focus on delivering measureable pilot projects to protect children on roads in urban areas of middle and low income countries. Join us in our effort to make safe, sustainable transport a reality!

Download the road safety Voluntary Commitments document
here >