IMMA’s Secretary General, Edwin Bastiaensen, handed the award, sponsored by IMMA to the Hon. Datuk Aziz Kaprawi, Deputy Transport Minister of Malaysia, emphasizing the global motorcycle industry’s commitment to road safety and the need for an inclusive PTW policy framework addressing human, infrastructure and vehicle issues. He handed over a copy of IMMA’s road safety white paper which contains a selection of more than 70 best practices to improve motorcycle safety.
“We are committed to reduce road accidents in Malaysia and receiving this award is an honor for Ministry of Transport (MOT),” said Deputy Transport Minister, Datuk Aziz Kaprawi. He also congratulated everyone who have worked hard to produce the short film.
The Global Road Safety Film Festival aims to convey powerful and important messages among public, by raising awareness through creating a road safety culture. The 2017 Film Festival edition took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It was held in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC). The ITC is the highest transport policy-making body in The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
The festival collected 232 films from countries across the globe including countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, The Dominican Republic, Malaysia, China and Tunisia. While all films were required to have English subtitles many are in the language of the country of origin. This makes them perfect teaching and awareness raising tools for road safety campaigns.
The festival was overseen by a high-level jury including Jury President Jean Todt, UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, filmmaker writer producer Luc Besson, Actress Michelle Yeoh, and Actor Jean Reno.
The grand prize was won by We Save Lives, an NGO based in US. The short film, titled Reflections from Inside Dawn, focuses on drink driving and distracted driving.