Creating safer roads requires more than awareness. It requires people who understand the challenges, can speak about them with confidence and are ready to advocate for change in their communities. That is the vision behind Youth Advocacy in Action for Safer Roads, a new initiative being implemented by Region III Club, the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA) and JN Foundation, in collaboration with YOURS – Youth for Road Safety.
“Youth Advocacy in Action for Safer Roads” aims to equip 150 secondary school students in Jamaica with road safety knowledge and leadership skills, enabling them to design and lead their own advocacy campaigns while contributing to a scalable model for youth-led action across FIA Region III.
Through advocacy and communications training, access to online learning opportunities and hands-on campaign development, participants will gain the tools needed to turn ideas into action. The project will also contribute to the development of a Youth Pilot Toolkit, capturing lessons learned and creating a model that can support youth-led road safety initiatives across Region III.
For Montel Hill, Lead, Driving Academy, iDrive4Life Initiative, the project is about creating opportunities for young people to take an active role in making their communities safer.
“This Youth Advocacy in Action for Safer Roads project is about equipping young people with the knowledge, confidence, and conviction to be agents of change in their own communities. Through this collaboration with YOURS, and the support of FIA Region III, iDrive4Life, powered by the Jamaica Automobile Association and JN Foundation, is proud to bring this initiative to 150 Jamaican secondary school students across five schools. By grounding this work in the Safe Systems approach, we are not simply training better drivers of the future, we are building a generation of road safety advocates who will make Jamaica’s roads safer for everyone.”
Grounded in the Safe Systems approach, the initiative recognises that safer roads are created through shared responsibility. While policies, infrastructure and enforcement all play an important role, communities also have a voice in shaping safer mobility systems. Young people experience these systems every day, and their perspectives can help identify challenges, influence conversations and inspire action.
Over the coming months, students in Jamaica will explore road safety issues affecting their daily lives, learn how advocacy can drive change and develop communications skills that help them engage their peers and communities. They will then apply these skills through youth-led campaigns designed around issues they care about most.
The project also builds on a growing commitment across FIA Region III to strengthen youth participation in road safety initiatives and create opportunities for young people to contribute to safer communities.
Reflecting on the recent FIA Region III Meeting in Quebec City, Omar Wright, Programme Lead at the JN Foundation and FIA Club Correspondence for Jamaica Automobile Association, highlighted how regional collaboration helped reinforce the vision behind the initiative.
“The FIA Region III meeting in Quebec City was a grounding experience. Seeing how clubs across the region are tackling road safety challenges that mirror our own reminded me that we are not working in isolation. What stood out to me was how closely the regional conversation aligned with what we are already building through the iDrive4Life programme. This partnership with YOURS takes that vision further by putting advocacy tools directly in the hands of Jamaican youth. These students won’t just learn about road safety, they will become the voices championing it in their schools and communities, a model we hope to share with the wider FIA Region III clubs.”
Often, young people are seen as beneficiaries of road safety initiatives rather than as partners in creating solutions.
“At YOURS, we believe that by building advocacy skills and creating opportunities for action, we support young people in addressing their issues, engaging their communities and helping to make roads safer. Meaningful participation is not only about giving young people a seat at the table; it is about ensuring they have the tools, confidence and opportunities to influence change,” said Iván Víquez S, Global Programmes Director, YOURS.
By bringing together local expertise, regional collaboration and youth leadership, Youth Advocacy in Action for Safer Roads aims to create lasting impact in Jamaica while contributing to a model that can be adapted and replicated across FIA Region III.
As the project unfolds, 150 students will have the opportunity to move from learning about road safety to actively shaping conversations around it. In doing so, they will help demonstrate what is possible when young people are trusted with the tools, knowledge and opportunities to lead change in their communities.