Traffic Safety & Mobility Education in Europe is not a dedicated subject at primary schools in the majority of member states and the way how this education is given to students differs widely across Europe. Moreover, Teachers are not adequately trained on how to deliver road safety activities in class. According to ETSC the way how traffic safety and mobility education is addressed during the education of teachers also differs greatly across Europe. Taken the above into consideration it may come with no surprise that according to the latest WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety (2018), road traffic injuries are the biggest killer that school-age children face worldwide. Every 3 minutes a child or young person dies as a result of road traffic injury: 227,000 children (0-19) die on the world’s roads every year while walking, cycling or riding on motorcycles. For every child who dies, another suffers a life changing disability. MOVING STARS (MOVING Safely To All RoadS) project aims to bridge this gap by bringing together schools, road safety experts, teachers and advanced educational applications developers to design, implement and validate an innovative games-based learning/teaching programme for Traffic Safety & Mobility Education. The project objectives are to O1: set the pedagogical framework of the training programme for the delivery of Traffic Safety and Mobility Education through traditional movement based learning games and interactive Serious Games techniques. O2: develop a Training Programme that will provide critical support to primary school teachers as they utilize various types of games and interactive activities in order to teach Road Safety. O3: design and develop a movement-based learning game app using motion sensing input devices, O4: Create a Hub for traffic safety exploiting the project outputs at selected schools that will consist the Network of 100 pilot schools, and O5: develop and pilot a systematic validation methodology that could identify the measurable impact of the proposed approach. The work is divided into 7 main activities, namely: A1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT & QUALITY ASSURANCE (Leader: RSI. Contributors: all partners) A2 DEFINITION OF THE PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK (Leader: RSI. Contributors: all partners) A3 TRAINING PROGRAMME & MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT (Leader: RSI. Contributors: all partners) A4 Application development (Leader: OMEGA Contributors: all partners) A5 SCHOOL IMPLEMENTATION & TRAINING ACTIVITIES (Leader: RSI. Contributors: all partners) A6 EVALUATION AND VALIIDATION (Leader: INNOFY Contributors: RSI, ITS, Escola) A7 DISSEMINATION & EXPLOITATION ACTIVITIES (Leader: RSI Contributors: all partners) Seven partners with complementary competences are joining forces in order to achieve desired results and to develop a series of innovative outputs that can improve the situation in the participating European countries: The Greek Road Safety institute (RSI) "Panos Mylonas", based in Greece, has been a pioneer in Traffic Safety & Mobility Education in Greece. Since 2009 RSI has trained more than 220,000 students and 800 teachers of primary and secondary schools. RSI has promoted and advocated for the introduction of Traffic Safety & Mobility Education in Greek schools as a compulsory subject. It has been selected by the Ministry of Education as one of the major organizations to consult the Ministry and participate in the development of relevant resources (Educational Radiotelevision road safety videos and digital creation contest). ITS, based in Poland, is the main Traffic Safety and Mobility Education provider in its country and has developed educational materials for teachers and students on different road safety issues, class scenarios, aids for teachers etc. OMEGA, based in Greece, is an IT company with expertise in 3D e-learning applications among others. OMEGA has already developed the e-Drive Academy (www.edrive.yme.gov.gr) under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, a platform dealing with Road Safety training and awareness issues. INNOFY, based in Greece, is a Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management Services company in Greece recognized for Responsible Research and Innovation services. Escola A. Aguilera, based in Spain, is a center of education for early childhood and primary education in Terrassa. Zographeion, based in Turkey, is a minority school in Instabul and Kildare Town Educate Together, based in Ireland, is a primary school that caters for children from Junior Infants(4 Years old) to 6th Class (12 years old).
The MOVING STARS project combines physical activities and game-based learning to enhance motor skills, promote active mobility, and instill traffic safety knowledge. It addresses needs by providing teachers updated skills in Traffic Safety & Mobility Education and equipping them with tools for game-based learning on traffic safety. The project tries to improve movement skills through engaging activities that focus on balance, coordination, running, and stopping. At the same time, it enhances students' traffic safety skills and promotes active mobility, reducing sedentary lifestyles. The project fosters a safety-minded culture, increasing risk awareness and personal safety. Ultimately, it aims to reduce children's road crash injuries by providing training, and resources, and promoting active learning.
The application for this project was motivated by the need to address the challenges faced by children in today's society. Children today spend less time playing outdoors & participating in active transport like walking or cycling to school. This is mainly due to car-dominated urban environments, perceived traffic dangers, and parental concerns about safety. Thus, children are leading sedentary lifestyles, resulting in increased rates of childhood obesity & non-communicable diseases. Moreover, there is a decline in children's motor skills, including balance, coordination, reaction, and other physical motor functions, which are essential for safe commuting. The recent lockdowns and school closures have further exacerbated these issues, with reports indicating an increase in accidents and movement problems among students upon their return to school. The lack of physical activity and limited exposure to road environments also hampers the development of road use skills and risk awareness among children. They become vulnerable as pedestrians due to inadequate road safety knowledge & experience. Additionally, the dependence on cars for transportation creates a vicious cycle where more traffic is generated, posing more risks to children.