These three schools were distinguished for their active participation in promoting safe road behaviors among their students and within their broader communities during this past school year as part of the Safe Roads. Safe Communities. program.

Sixty participants were in attendance at the event, among them H.E. Khun Rachana, High Representative of Minister of the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports, Lieutenant general Yun Chhunny, representative from the National Road Safety Committee, Mr. Kim Pagna, the Cambodia Country Director at AIP Foundation, representatives from the media and the 18 target schools in the program, and assorted road safety stakeholders.

The three award-winning schools exhibited the most developed and comprehensive practices in promoting safe road behaviors both on and off their campuses, with a particular focus on helmet use among students and teachers. Examples of their efforts include raising awareness of road safety in their communities, rewarding participants for embodying safety principles such as consistent helmet use, and developing connections with and capacities of parents to help bolster the effect of in-class safety instruction.

The schools will participate in a study tour to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to meet with representatives of the education sector there and with fellow outstanding safety schools to exchange their experiences and compare their challenges. Based on what they learn during the course of the tour, they will then have the opportunity to share best practices with schools in their corresponding province in hopes of applying these activities within the broader Cambodian context.   

“This program is education at its finest; it is multifaceted, with children, teachers, and school administrators learning from various sources and getting hands-on knowledge of how others have successfully navigated the challenges they face. These outstanding schools will also be able to pay it forward by showing their sister schools the path towards safer roads,” said H.E. Hong Chhunnaron, the Minister of Education, Youth, and Sport.

“Cambodia has made significant progress towards supporting safer roads in recent months with the start of enforcement for the new Road Traffic Law that fines drivers whose passengers are not helmeted. However, we are still a long way off from full compliance, so it is as important as ever that our youngest members know the importance of proper helmet use and general road safety,” said Pagna Kim, Cambodia Country Director at AIP Foundation.