Manuel João Ramos 15/11/2011

1. Manuel João Ramos 15/11/2011

2. The World Day of Remembrance is a valuable tool for UNRSC, to help us realise the aims of the Decade of Global Action.

3. WDOR is a unique opportunity to highlight the devastating consequences of breaches of driving laws and regulations.

4. The current state of affairs regarding the World Day of Remembrance of Road Victims is difficult to gauge.WDOR has been growing in many countries everywhere in the world.

5. - UN Resolution in 2005 of adopting the World Day- WDOR Guide for governments and NGOs- Inclusion of WDOR in the Plan for the Decade of Global Action- on 27th September, the EU Parliament in Strasbourg voted the EU Road Safety Strategy 2020 where WDOR is officially recognized throughout Europe

6. WDOR theme:“From Global Remembrance to Global Action across the Decade” – Let's make 2011-2020 a Decade to remember!United to improve crash prevention, investigation and victim services

7. WDOR site:http://www.worlddayofremembrance.org/

8. WDR Events throughout the Globe in 2011• In Ghana, the Cecon organisation is holding events over three days – procession through Accra with petition to Parliament, visit of injured road victims at Korlebu hospital and a church service.• In Romania, the Center of Consultancy for Road Victims (CCVR) will place silhouettes of men, women and children - made of newspaper by students from the School of Art - in front of the House of Parliament in Bucharest on 19th November, and light 2,377 candles – one for each road victim in 2010.• In Japan, events will take place in five cities on 19th and 20th November: in Tokyo a candle-lit vigil with the lights of Tokyo Tower in the background switched off, a conference in Hokkaido on Vision Zero, in Fukushima, where yellow windmills are used as a World Day symbol, in Akita and in Ishinomaki, the scene of many road crashes during the recent tsunami and nuclear disasters.• In Luxemburg, the Association nationale des Victimes de la Route (AVR) will plant the first 200 of 1,000 trees in the Road Victim Memorial Wood, where a monument will also be placed next year. A church service and gathering will be attended by representatives from government and relevant agencies.

9. WDR Events throughout the Globe in 2011• In Australia, the Road Trauma Support Services in Victoria will host their 11th ‘Annual Time for Remembering’ ceremony at Parliament House in Melbourne.In Slovenia, Zavod Varna Pot is organizing WDOR events in 23 cities an towns, with the support of the president of the republic, of the government and in collaboration from other NGOs. The major ceremonywill take place in Capital square, Ljubljana.• In Croatia, two national papers will carry a piece in memory of road victims and a number of radio and TV stations will dedicate programmes to World Day; the main Remembrance Ceremony, held in Koprivnica, will be attended by the Association of Traffic Victims Families, traffic police, fire brigade, emergency service personnel and the president of one of the ruling political parties. • In New Zealand, Safekids are marking the World Day with the following events in four locations of Auckland: Display of child car seats with wooden crosses, a service and a minute silence, and roadside child car seat checking clinics with the help of TV celebrities.• In Ireland, PARC Road Safety Group are organising a multi-denominational ceremony in Dublin in support of the bereaved, injured and emergency services.• In the UK, coordinated by RoadPeace, 25 church services are held nationwide. There is also a Lecture at the University of Bristol with the title: What harms us most and a ‘Sing for Safety’ event at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

15. WDOR in social networks:http://www.facebook.com/roadtrafficvictimsirelandhttp://www.facebook.com/naonosesquecemos

16. Recommendations related to WDOR in the Brussels’ NGO Declaration:

17. Observe the World Day of Remembrance each year, with more events and wider publicity in every year of the Decade

18. Ensure the World Day of Remembrance receives official recognition by the government of each member country

19. Establish a national coalition against road trauma including all institutions and individuals working to minimize road trauma

20. Work towards a national memorial to road victims in each member country by the end of the Decade

21. Note: all these initiatives related to WDOR come under Pillar 5 (Post crash response) of the Plan for the Decade of Global Action

22. Issues for further reflection: • - Lobbying for adoption of WDOR • Fears of misusing WDOR • Integration of WDOR in the Decade’s Plan. • Evaluation of WDOR

23. Small request to UNRSC members:Please, contribute to these aims and do let us know what actions you are taking in regard to WDORhttp://www.worlddayofremembrance.org/

24. You may think that this shouldn't be a Day to celebrate. But it is. It is a Day to celebrate Road Traffic Victims. On this day we can all celebrate our longing for our friends and family who, for one reason or another, were made (innocent) victims of a car dependent way of life.This is a Day of Remembrance for the lost ones, but is also a Day of Life: celebrating both those who are gone and those who are here. Those lost were not victims of "accidents" - this would be an insult to their memory. There are no accidents on public roads. Each person is a world. Without this understanding, there is no future for humanity. If we understand this, there may be future for us all. WDOR means that we must unite, but also that each of us has a personal responsibility to act. We are our actions. And we must choose our side. The big question is: are we on the side of love of life or on the side of love of death? As the Portuguese poet said: We don't need love. We need love of Life. And that means honoring the dead.(Rui Zink, writer)