A social campaign aimed at popularization of the ideas of the Conference is taking place in Moscow
October 9, 2009, Moscow
On the eve of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety a social campaign aimed at popularization of the ideas of this Conference is taking place in Moscow.
During a meeting of the International Consultative Committee for the preparation of the Conference held on October 8, 2009 Mr. V.N.Kiryanov, Chief State Inspector for Road Safety in Russia, noted that the success of the event often depends on the way it is presented to the public. In this connection, a description of a campaign directed at promoting ideas and aims of the Conference and preparing the public opinion for its conduct is described below.
A social campaign on road safety devoted to the upcoming Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety was launched in Moscow in September and will last till the end of the Conference in November.
The campaign was initiated by the State Inspection for Road Safety of the Russian Federation. The development and the implementation of its communication strategy were carried out by “Zavod” Social Communications Agency.
This social campaign comprises three phases, following in succession, and precedes the worldwide-level event to be held in Moscow. During the Conference Russian authorities are planning to present certain international initiatives in the field of road traffic safety.
Road traffic injuries are a major public health problem and a leading cause of death and trauma around the world. Nearly 1.3 million of people are killed and about 50 million are injured or get disabled every year in road accidents. One of the key issues of this global problem solution is a clear awareness of its scope, both at national and international levels, by every road traffic participant. Russia has its own dismal contribution to the global statistics of road accidents. The first stage of the social campaign aims to inform the public about the level of human losses in road accidents. According to the Russian road police officials the priority of this phase is an honest and open publication of the annual number of road accident victims in our country: 30000 dead, including more than 1000 children. This message is directed to the authorities at all levels responsible for the condition of roads, infrastructure, road signs etc. Each member of society - a driver, a pedestrian, an official, a parent - should understand the measure of personal responsibility for reducing the number of road accident victims.
For the first phase of the campaign, which took place from the 1st to the 30th of September, 100 street advertisement panels and 18 banners were used, 15-second videos were demonstrated 6 times per hour on the 17 outdoor screens.
The second phase of the social campaign, which began on October 1, will reveal the successes achieved in improving traffic safety in Russia. Despite an extremely difficult situation on the roads, which fell into Russian’s share from the so-called “swashbuckling nineties” of the past century, the society was able to overcome stereotypes of aggressive behavior on the roads. The execution of the "Road Safety Improvement in 2006-2012" Federal program resulted in a 12% decrease of road accident deaths and in a 7.3% decrease of people injured.
3000 of saved lives as a result of systematic ongoing efforts of the road police and gradually evolving awareness of all road traffic participants, this is the main thrust of the October-phase of the campaign. People should know that the situation on the roads changes for better understanding the feasibility of further measures to restore order on Russian roads, and their comprehensive participation in this process.
The third phase of the social campaign, which begins on November 1 and will last until the end of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety will be aimed at a demonstration of Russia's involvement in the struggle for road traffic safety. In addition to the official statements of major initiatives the Conference participants would be welcomed by the organizers.
Ministers of relevant departments from more than 100 countries are expected to participate, as well as representatives of different international, regional and sub-regional governmental and non-governmental organizations.