HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – 11 March 2025

A delegation from Cambodia’s government institutions visited Ho Chi Minh City, Pleiku City and Dong Nai Province, Vietnam from 3 to 7 March 2025 to study road safety measures as part of the Safe School Zones Study Mission to Vietnam.

Eight delegates attended the study mission from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS), General Secretariat of the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and General Commissariat of National Police, Ministry of Interior. The visit was coordinated by AIP Foundation with support from FIA Foundation.

The delegation met with representatives from the Traffic Safety Committee of Gia Lai, Pleiku People’s Committee as well as school representatives in Pleiku City and Ho Chi Minh City. The delegation also visited a factory in Dong Nai to learn more about the importance of safe commuting for factory workers. Moreover, the delegation went to see a Road Safety Park in Gai Dinh Park, Ho Chi Minh City and a tactical urbanism design on Le Duan boulevard (in front of the Independence Palace and the Notre Dame Cathedral) where new modifications to the road/pedestrian island were made.

The overall objective of the study mission in Vietnam was to strengthen the government relationship and collaboration between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and for the visiting delegation to learn from Vietnam’s experience improving road safety efforts with a particular focus on children’s safety through safe school zones interventions, including the education and law enforcement related to 30km/h speed limit and factory workers’ commuting safety in Dong Nai province.

Key highlights and takeaways from the five day study tour included:

• The tour was extremely useful in convincing government officials to prioritize key interventions for safe school zones. The Cambodian delegation agreed to an initiative of establishing a Technical Working Group on Safe School Zones Interventions which will compose of key government agencies and non-governmental and private stakeholders. The working group will be tasked in pushing for more investment in safe school areas around the country.
• The representative of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, strongly supported the safe school zone interventions and expressed their readiness to collaborate with relevant stakeholders including AIP Foundation and the use of Star Rating for School app to conduct the assessment for school zone modifications. Upon his return to the Kingdom of Cambodia, an action plan on Safe School Zones in Cambodia, in particular at high risk schools, will be developed and shared at the Dissemination Workshop of the Study Tour’s results which is planned during the 8th UN Global Road Safety Week in May 2025.
• The delegation further learned of innovative solutions for speed management – i.e. setting speed limits only during the school day/specific limited hours.
• The delegation had a better understanding of the development and maintenance of the Road Safety Parks in Vietnam and can now improve their current road safety park building and explore the possibility of building additional similar road safety parks in Cambodia.

Paving the way for Safe School Zones in Vietnam:
Vietnam is steadily advancing its commitment to safer school zones for students nationwide. One of the key goals of the National Strategy on Road Traffic Safety in Vietnam for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045 (approved by the Prime Minister in 2020), is to ensure that 100% of school gate areas on national highways, provincial roads, and main urban roads are organized for safe traffic and congestion prevention. A key tool to make this possible is the Safe School Zones Guide (SSZ Guide) championed by FIA Foundation and AIP Foundation.

The SSZ Guide, officially launched in October 2023, serves as a reliable resource for urban planners, engineers, and policymakers. Developed over two years, the guide provides technical standards and practical solutions to address traffic safety issues around schools on a national scale. Following the MOT’s endorsement in August 2023, the guide was introduced to stakeholders from all 63 provinces, leading to remarkable progress in school zone safety. Hai Duong province, for instance, invested VND 2.7 billion (USD 110,000) to enhance safety measures in six school zones. Similarly, Gia Lai province upgraded infrastructure in 12 primary and secondary schools in Pleiku City. These efforts underscore the transformative potential of the SSZ Guidewhen effectively applied.

“Together with the Senior Leadership Team at AIP Foundation, I commend the Government of Cambodia for their strong commitment, as demonstrated at the recent 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakech, to creating safe school zones across the country. This initiative is a crucial step toward safeguarding children’s futures and ensuring they have a safe journey to school. I am hopeful that the study tour to Ho Chi Minh City, Pleiku and Dong Nai,provided the Cambodian delegation with valuable insights and actionable steps to help turn this vision into reality,” shares Mirjam Sidik, Chief Executive Officer at AIP Foundation.

The study mission not only highlights Vietnam’s progress in enhancing school zone safety but also sets the stage for continued collaboration among national and international partners. Together, they aim to ensure that every student can journey to and from school safely, unlocking their potential for a brighter future.