Red Cross Red Crescent Movement General Assembly a success
Sydney, Australia was a proud host to the General Assembly of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement during November. This year, the General Assembly brought together 189 National Societies, including new members, the South Sudan Red Cross Society and the Cyprus Red Cross Society.
Throughout the meeting, more than 1,000 Movement delegates from nearly every country in the world, together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), discussed today’s humanitarian challenges and decided on the priorities and future direction of the Red Cross Red Crescent, the world’s largest humanitarian network.
Within the agenda of the General Assembly, as a hosted project and the IFRC resource centre for road safety, the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) conducted two workshops addressing the role National Societies can play in the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The workshops spotlighted case studies of National Societies working as auxiliaries to government and advocating successfully for improved road safety legislation. They looked at the hands-on role National Societies take working with communities in educating children on road safety and working with adults and teenagers on improved post-crash care. The workshops also focussed attention on IFRC Pledge 2089, wherein the IFRC and National Societies pledged to work to improve road safety outcomes in the five pillars of the Decade of Action for Road Safety during the years 2012-2015.
Delegates from around 100 National Societies attended the workshops and the takeaway was overwhelmingly positive. There is no doubting the high level of recognition the road safety situation holds within the Movement. There are countless examples of good practice initiatives being implemented all over the globe which have been shared, and there is high level leadership commitment to building the capacity of National Societies to expand and enhance their work in this field through partnership with GRSP.
