In 2020 DG Move developed a stronger approach to reinforce its European Road Safety Charter, the largest road safety platform in civil society. An important focus of this new phase of the ERSC is to promote a stronger presence at a national level to support this growing Charter family and to reinforce its ongoing aspirations. Therefore, DG Move is establishing a new and strong network of national relays in the 27 EU Members States.
The national relay network
For the development of a strong and representative national relay network it is critical to have the buy-in of international and national road safety organisations that will act as the national relays in each EU Member State. The national relays form the backbone of the communication strategy at that level. They will play a key role in increasing awareness and promoting the Charter at the member state level and other activities that advance the objectives of the Charter.
Roles of the national relays
The national relays will play a key role in developing a positive road safety culture across Europe, and they will be specifically responsible for
- Disseminating information about the Charter (i.e. the aim, activities, members)
- Fostering membership and commitments in their country
- Providing country-specific feedback and information on road safety activities
- Contributing to identification and exchange of good practice examples
- Advising on any concerns from members signing up to the Charter in their country
- Delivering information and promotional activities in their country
- Supporting in the organisation of a Charter event in their member state
Within this new network the national relays will continually gather country-specific information and feedback to promote the European Road Safety Charter, in order to understand barriers and key issues that members and potential members are experiencing. In that way they are better placed to offer the proper advice and guidance on the membership process, the development and exchange of road safety actions and the Charter initiatives and communication.
This will be important to create a more tailored approach that is sensitive to local preferences, while still maintaining the added value of an EU initiative. This new and strong network of national relays will collaborate intensively with each other and the Charter members to increase the exchange of good practice examples and to support the road safety community in the EU (and even beyond).
Opportunities for ERSC members
In order to fully support the opportunities that could improve road safety actions in general and accelerate the uptake of the Charter specifically, the national relays can give you guidance on how to do that and can support you in establishing national promotional activities.
The national relays will also participate in ad hoc, bilateral or group discussions to tackle issues and encourage a sense of community at local, national and EU level. This will help the national relays share best practices amongst themselves and get support from their peers in their national efforts to promote the Charter.
Contact and more information
The network of national relays and the ERSC helpdesk can also provide access to road safety experts or communications experts to answer specific questions you may have. Together you can join forces and share efforts, to expand your road safety community, to build and increase capacity, with a mutual goal: your commitment can save lives on our roads!
The national relays are currently being selected and will be announced soon on the Charter’s website and across our social media channels where you can then contact them directly. In the meantime, if you have any questions then please contact us here