Nearly 2,000 students in HCM City on Sunday joined the Safe Steps Initiative which was intended to raise people's awareness about road traffic safety in Vietnam.  

The launch of the Safe Steps initiative in Vietnam on April 9

The launch of the Safe Steps initiative in Vietnam is supported and implemented by the National Traffic Safety Committee and Prudence Foundation. The event saw the participation of representatives from many agencies in Vietnam and artists, including Chinese-Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who is also the United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador.

The event started with a motorcycle road-show, with the parade making its way through central HCM City with the participation of Ambassador Michelle Yeoh, the vice chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung as well as representatives from the United Nations Special Envoy for Road Safety, Prudence Foundation, AIP foundation and Vietnamese artists.

Dr. Khuat Viet Hung, the National Traffic Safety Committee's vice chairman, said that the initiative will hope to contribute to the building of a transportation culture for the Vietnamese people and creates a safer, more friendly transportation environment.

Safe Steps will feature short films which are aimed to raising awareness and providing clear, educational information on common road safety issues such as how to ensure safety while driving, safety for pedestrians. The films are being screened across Asia on Fox channel, reaching out to 80 million households daily.

The Safe Steps initiative is also being implemented in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

Michelle is in Ho Chi Minh City with the objective of raising awareness of the importance of road safety. She says her goal is to provide clear, educational information on some of the leading causes of traffic deaths to as many people as possible. On April 9, Michelle is joined in HCM City by actress Ly Nha Ky. Emcee Nguyen Khang (first from left) and model Ha Anh (fourth from left) also join the event. The event in HCM City attracts an astounding 1,500 Vietnamese students. The Safe Steps campaign is a partnership between Prudence Foundation, the National Geographic Channel and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) for road safety. Since 2008, Michelle has dedicated her life to campaigning for road safety to be recognized as a global public health and development priority for both the UN and FIA. “The stage is set. We have the lights. We have the cameras. And as they say in my world, now it’s time for action,” says Michelle.Michelle is currently the Global Road Safety Ambassador for the UN Decade for Road Safety 2011-2020 and spokesperson for the new FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety. Her goal is to engage the private sector to raise much-needed new momentum to tackle the global road safety challenge. Michelle has also personally travelled across the globe and witnessed first-hand the terrible impact traffic deaths have on people’s lives. She is in Vietnam to ask everyone to do their part. “I’ve seen the impact that the smallest little changes in road safety – and roadway initiatives – can have on people’s lives,” says Michelle. These things are not hugely expensive. They don’t require years of study. But they will pay an economic return to all of us – in every country – for the lives they save, and the tragedies and sadness they avert.

VOV/Dtinews