As part of its commitment to keep safety as a top priority, Fundación MAPFRE, in collaboration with Malta Public Transport, the Ministry for Education, and the Malta Road Safety Council, are launching the Street Smart 7 safety campaign.
This initiative involves a series of interactive videos that can be shown to young children by their teachers during school lessons to demonstrate the importance of road safety in an educational and entertaining way. All primary schools in Malta and Gozo are invited and encouraged to participate.
Mr Javier R. Moreno Gonzales, CEO at MAPFRE Middlesea, officially launched this event. “Fundación MAPFRE embarked on this awareness campaign in Malta in 2013 to promote road safety measures amongst children and young adults, and it has been a great success amongst students in schools all over the island. We are now very excited to launch the 7th edition of this project”.
The campaign will be carried out over a period of three years, with this year’s interactive videos focusing on safety issues while being a passenger in a private vehicle, while walking, and while travelling by bus. The videos are aimed at children aged between 5 and 9. However, they can also be enjoyed by younger or older children.
Speaking at the official launch of the Street Smart 7 campaign, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Education, Dr Francis Fabri, welcomed this campaign. “Children and students are our genuine change agents and are definitely in favour of a just and better world. Through this awareness campaign, children shall engage in informed and interactive activities whilst enjoying and uplifting their learning experience.”
“The contribution from Fundación MAPFRE for the past nine years and the next three years will indeed support Transport Malta and Malta Public Transport in their educational mission and sustain the educational journey of school children whilst becoming active and responsible citizens. This is in line with the Ministry’ Framework for the Education Strategy for Malta 2030,” concluded Dr Francis Fabri.
Through this initiative, children will be asked to choose between two different scenarios as we see Mr Safe and his family go through different familiar experiences. With the popular comedy duo Danusan in the principal roles, we aim to raise awareness among the younger generation about safety on our roads and encourage them to be safety ambassadors when they notice something is wrong.
Malta Road Safety Council, Executive Chairperson Pierre Vella stated, “We suddenly ground to a halt with the arrival of the pandemic after a massive success story we experienced going around schools. It was the determination of everyone involved with Fundación MAPFRE that kept this initiative moving forward. The concept is quite innovative, and the scripts and filming were all created and staged locally, giving the concept a local touch. A new idea that will hopefully keep evolving in the future.”
“We believe that children can make a big difference when it comes to changing our attitude towards safety on our roads. Children are more likely to challenge how we do certain things, so this is a fantastic opportunity to mix fun and education to achieve this much-needed change”, stated Konrad Pulé, General Manager at Malta Public Transport.
These interactive videos are being offered free of charge. Schools that wish to participate in this campaign may contact the coordinating team at Malta Public Transport on communications@publictransport.com.mt.