Traffic safety is a real and heavy problem at the global level. Traffic accidents among young people worldwide are still the number one for mortality, the average age of a person who is seriously injured in a car accident is 22 years old. Nevertheless, the topic of traffic safety in the youth sector is poorly represented, and youth workers are poorly trained in carrying out preventive activities in the field of traffic safety. Overall youth organizations and youth workers devote too little attention to the traffic safety, which undoubtedly should be an important topic among youth and represents a key challenge within the youth field for the future. The reason for the situation is lack of knowledge in the field of road safety among youth workers and the lack of appropriate competences - how to transfer this knowledge and bring the topic closer to the youth. The essence of Be a Hero project is to empower the youth sector and to strengthen the quality work of youth workers through the upgrading of competences and the acquisition of expertise in the field of road safety. It is necessary to gain structured methodologies, strengthen the knowledge and then carry out the application of both in practice. Along with that the social inclusion of persons with fewer opportunities (victims of road accidents) in youth work will help to address the pressing problem of road safety in the youth sector in the future. The empowerment of the youth sector and youth workers is therefore the first step towards the systematic introduction of solutions in the field of traffic safety among young people. The project partners will jointly develop an appropriate methodology for the youth sector, and thus create concrete guidelines and approaches that will be specifically adapted for working with young people in the area of road safety. We will also define the criteria for the effective functioning of organizations from the youth sector in the field of awareness of traffic safety and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among young people and develop concrete and innovative solutions at the level of program activity. We will also offer the youth sector guidelines for a quality and efficient implementation of a structured dialogue with local decision makers with the aim of introducing and ensuring lasting changes in the area of traffic safety among young people in the local environment. By transferring expertise, knowledge in the field of youth work and proven effective project concept of innovative initiative Heroes drive in pajamas (European Commission Excellence and Road Safety Awards), we will strengthen the quality of the youth work of project partners, while the project partners will be exchangeing good practices, working methods and useful information among themselves. In this way we will jointly strengthen the competencies and upgrade the knowledge and further enrich the youth work of all project partners. With the implementation of training, study visits, multiplication events, Skype seminars, etc. we will provide a quality transfer of knowledge among ourselves and with the developed methodology with included guidelines for program implementation in individual countries (at national and local level) we will provide the dissemination of knowledge between other organizations, thus ensuring the sustainability of the project and increasing the quality of youth work even wider. In the framework of this methodology, which will be created as one of the results of Be a Hero project, we also want to develop a model that will present possibilities for involving vulnerable groups (with fewer opportunities, with special needs - disability) into youth work.
The essence of the Be a Hero project was to empower the youth sector and strengthen the quality work of youth workers through the upgrading of competences and the acquisition of professional knowledge in the field of traffic safety. The structured establishment of appropriate methodologies, the strengthening of knowledge and the applicability of both, also in the field of social inclusion of persons with fewer opportunities (victims of traffic accidents) in youth work, is absolutely necessary to address the pressing problem of traffic safety and the independent work of the youth sector in the road safety field in the future.
Traffic safety is an urgent problem at the global level. Traffic accidents are still the number one cause of death among young people in the world, and the average age of a person seriously injured in a traffic accident is 22 years. Despite this, the topic of traffic safety is poorly represented in the youth sector, and youth workers are poorly trained to carry out preventive activities in the field of traffic. Youth organizations and youth workers pay too little attention to traffic safety, which is undoubtedly a hot topic of modern times and represents a key challenge of the future. The reason lies in the fact that in order to cover the topic, on the one hand, knowledge of the field of traffic safety is required, and on the other hand, it is necessary to possess the appropriate competences, how to transfer this knowledge or bringing the topic closer to young people.