The NGOs’ events centered around “Every Day Counts,” an installation that use a pile of shoes to represent the shocking reality that 3,700 lives are lost every day in road crashes around the world.
The installation is part of an interactive exhibition held by the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety (the Alliance) in Stockholm Central Station from 18–20 February 2020, under the theme “the magnitude of the global road safety crisis and solutions that work.”
At the People’s Meeting, dignitaries — including Jean Todt, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety; H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission; Mattias Landgren, State Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure, Government of Sweden; the Rt. Hon. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, UK parliamentarian and Chairman, FIA Foundation; Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of Social Determinants of Health, WHO; and Zoleka Mandela, Child Health Initiative Global Ambassador — added a pair of shoes to the pile. Members of civil society have called for world leaders to take urgent action to save lives.
The exhibition presents “the double standard” in collaboration with Global NCAP, displaying two crashed cars from the same manufacturer but destined for different countries, to highlight the inequality and danger faced by citizens in countries with lower vehicle safety standards. Visitors to the exhibition were able to see and hear stories from around the world and have the opportunity to write their own commitments for a 2.5-meter-high world map.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Rock Sherman, Vice-President Road Network Europe, FedEx Express Europe, an Alliance sponsor, alongside Rochelle Sobel, the Alliance’s Chair of the Board of Directors, and David Ward, Secretary General, Global NCAP.
