Road safety in Africa: TRANS-SAFE Workshop at SAFELY training in Berlin
- Thamires Pecis
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
During the SAFELY Towards Zero Accidents: Road Safety Professional Course, held at EUREF-Campus in Berlin-Schöneberg, the TRANS-SAFE project organized a workshop that offered a concise gateway to strengthening support and building synergies for road safety promotion in Africa.
Why was this workshop important?
The session provided a cross-disciplinary space to present evidence-based needs and ongoing efforts aimed at improving road safety in Africa. It served to cross-pollinate ideas that could enhance these efforts and explore future pathways to sustain road safety and traffic management initiatives. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce traffic incidents and minimize their socio-economic and environmental impacts.
The workshop also allowed participants to share insights and best practices from other regions, including Europe, that can inspire the transformation of road safety systems in Africa. A key focus was on translating high-level Safe-System principles into practical, context-adapted tools for long-term, sustainable application.
Representing UEMI, Oliver Lah, TRANS-SAFE Project Coordinator, and Edmund Teko, researcher, facilitated the session. Edmund summarized the experience by stating:
“The TRANS-SAFE Workshop (...) brought together researchers, planners, and policymakers from Africa and Europe to deliberate on workable road safety solutions to shape safer roads across Africa. Together, we are turning Safe-System principles into real-world solutions.”
What happened during the workshop?
Oliver Lah opened the session by introducing the goals and engaging participants with a live poll about road safety in their cities and what motivates their work, setting an interactive tone from the beginning.
Edmund Teko followed with a clear presentation of the TRANS-SAFE project, highlighting its objectives and practical approaches to fostering safer mobility across Africa. Participants also heard from Prof. Marianne Vanderschuren via a recorded presentation on the “Safe System” approach, offering fresh insights on adapting the model to the African context.
Later, Oliver facilitated an open discussion, encouraging reflections on how these strategies could be applied in participants’ local contexts. The session concluded with Oliver and Edmund sharing case studies from TRANS-SAFE’s Living Labs, sparking exchange on lessons learned and local innovations. Oliver wrapped up with a summary of key takeaways.
About TRANS-SAFE
Road crashes remain a major barrier to sustainable urban development in Africa, highlighting the need to develop knowledge, tools, and solutions to reverse this trend.
The EU-funded TRANS-SAFE project conducts national, regional, and city-level demonstrations to test innovative Safe-System interventions. Alongside these pilots, the project is developing a comprehensive toolbox, capacity-building modules, policy support mechanisms, and replication strategies to scale successful approaches and improve road safety across the continent.
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