HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – November 11, 2021

As Covid-19 has continued to change the world we know, at AIP Foundation, we are tackling that challenge with creativity. Getting creative means finding innovative solutions through paths not yet taken. We are very proud to share that we have hosted the first official AIP Foundation webinar, co-hosted by AA Vietnam, and iRAP, on Star Ratings For Schools (SR4S) with hands-on examples of Vietnam. The webinar was co-organized with the support of the FIA and the FIA Foundation.

Greig Craft, AIP Foundation/AA Vietnam Founder and President and FIA Region II Asia-Pacific President, delivered the opening remarks welcoming all participants to the webinar and sharing our road to change in Pleiku City, Vietnam. Rita Cuypers, Director of Partnerships at the FIA Foundation highlighted the importance of improving school road infrastructure to protect children on their way to and from school.

Following the introduction on SR4S and the Assessment Toolkit by Rob McInerney, iRAP CEO, and Rafaela Machado, iRAP SR4S Global Coordinator, Minh Vo, SR4S Master Trainer, shared her expertise on the implementation of the method. Hong Bui, AIP Foundation Program Manager, shared experiences and insights of the implementation process into a full program.

During the webinar, participants gained insight into our experience with infrastructure assessment, stakeholder engagement, challenges, and lessons learned for effective implementation and advocacy for policy change.

There was a wide audience in attendance including; FIA clubs, Government entities, NGOs, officials, and specialists in road safety, education, health, civil engineering, and research. There were more than 100 registered participants coming from all regions around the world. This webinar is the first in a series of three webinars that will be organized by AIP Foundation within the scope of the Safe School Zones Guide Project.

Quy Linh Nguyen, AIP Foundation National Program Director for Vietnam and moderator of the webinar shared, “SR4S is a proven effective tool in terms of school zone safety. With success stories of the program in Pleiku, Vietnam, the SR4S with hands-on examples of Vietnam webinar is a great case study to inspire other cities across Vietnam as well as other countries in Asia and beyond.”