Department of Public Health Sciences
Division of Social Medicine

Safe Community Monthly News
Issue 25

August 2009
In this issue

New Cafe Community designation

1

New Affiliate Support Centre

1

Report from Namibia

2

Report from Botsowana

2

Xinjiangwancheng Community, China

2

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

South Eastern Europe SC Network

3
3
4
4

Course4Forthcoming Conferences

4

1st SE Europe SC Conference
Safe School in Backi Petrovac, Serbia

Dear Colleagues,
We are proud to introduce you another new Safe Community, new affiliate
Support Centre and a Safe School in Serbia; also the re‐designation cere‐mony in Canada.
We are introducing several SC activities in African region.
News and reports of this issue are appended below. Same issue is also avail‐able at our WHO Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion
website: http://www.phs.ki.se/csp/who_newsletters_en.htm
With warm regards
Leif Svanström, Responsible Editor
Koustuv Dalal, Editor

New Safe Community – City of Novi Sad, Serbia
On the 23.June 2009. in the City Hall, City of Novi Sad was
designated as Safe Community, 158 member of international Safe
Community network and second member of national safe Community
netrwork. Agreement was signed by Dr. Bo Henricson from WHO CC
Community Safety Promotion, Sasha Igic, PhD, Deputy Mayor ‐ City ofNovi Sad, Dr Tomislav Stantic, State secretary, Ministry of Health Republicof Serbia, Ass. Prof. Dragan Jovanovic, Leader, Safe Community City ofNovi Sad, Dr Mirjana Milankov, Leader, Project Safe Community for
Serbia. The vision of Safe Community Novi Sad is to create a safe andhealthy living and working environment in Novi Sad by promoting a safeand healthy culture, so that the City of Novi Sad could be locally,nationally and internationally recognized as a city that is both safe andperceived to be safe. The priority areas of Safe Community Novi Sad are:safe Community, injury prevention of the children and youth, injury
prevention elderly people, traffic safety and fire prevention.
Reporter: Mirjana Milankov, Serbia

New Affiliate Safe Community Support Center in Novi Sad, Serbia
On the 22. June 2009. in the Hall of Executive Council of Vojvodina, in
the presence of more than 150 guests from home and abroad, National
Center for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Novi Sad, Serbia,
was designated as an Affiliate Safe Community Support Centre of WHO
CC Community Safety Promotion. Agreement was signed by Dr Bo
Henricson from WHO CC Community Safety Promotion, Dr Mirjana
Milankov, president and founder, and academician Julujan Tamas,
honorary president of National Center for Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion Novi Sad. The new center was welcomed by Prof. Branislava
Belic, vice president Assembly of the Autonomous Province Vojvodina,
Dr Atila Chengeri, secretary Provincial Secretariat for Health and Prof.
Shrikant I. Bangdiwala, from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
USA.
Reporter: Mirjana Milankov, Serbia

Walvis Bay- the first municipality to develop Safe Community program in Namibia?
During a very short visit to Namibia April 29‐ May 4 discussions where primarily held with the Walvis Bay Corridor Group(WBCG) and the MVA Fund. The WBCG are an integrated system of roads and rail networks from the Port of Walvis Bay via
the Trans‐Kalahari, Trans‐Caprivi, Trans‐Cunene and Trans‐Oranje Corridors providing landlocked countries access totransatlantic markets. Countries involved are South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana,
Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and of course Namibia.
The WBCG is not only engaged in transport safety along the corridors but also in
HIV/AIDS prevention. In a program with the Swedish SIDA engaging Namibia,
Botswana and Zambia the goal is to develop sustainable, safe and secure corridors. Ina meeting Prof Svanström introduced the Safe Communities concept and world‐
wide network to the two “managers” Mbahupu H. Tjivikua and Gilbert Boois and all
saw many possibilities for joint development in the future.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) was established 1990 shortly after indep‐endence, which compensates victims and is nowadays also active into prevention. In
a meeting on April 30 led by Chief Corporate Affairs Rosalia Martins‐ Hausiku again
the Safe Communities concept and world‐ wide network was introduced where also
Gilbert Boois from the WBCG participated—joint possibilities were clearly seen.
Walvis Bay was seen as a candidate for safe community development.
Reporter: Leif SvanströmWill Botswana adopt the Safe Community concept?
The Safe Comm concept and network was introduced in a series of meetings in the capital of Botswana‐ Gabarone. The
contacts were organized by Dr Margarett Davis, CDC:s mission on AIDS prevention in Botswana. Her experience in that area
served as a welcome vector for Leif Svanström in order to discuss the future of Safe Communities in Botswana.
Victor Brunoh Paledi, Director of Traffic Division of the Botswana Police Service reports on about 500 traffic death every year‐
around 1/3 being pedestrians. The number of vehicles are 300 000+. There is a national Road Safety Commission responsible fora situation where the traffic mortality is among the highest in Africa. There are however some good signs like a high safety belt
compliance. Director Paledi welcomes Safe Communities as a possible way forward to improve local traffic safety. The main
problems are drinking‐driving, speeding and pedestrian safety.
In a meeting with a group from Ministry of Health (Doctors Agnes Mokoka, Patrick Zibochwa, Pedro Ramosanta, Phinda
Khame, Sefentse Moahi, Setshwano Mokgweetsinyana, Shenaaz El‐Halabi and Virginia Chakalisa) similar safety development
through Safe Communities development was discussed not only for accident prevention but also for a growing problem ‐suicide.
Ministry of Local Government poses an interesting and engaged player for Community
Safety. In a meeting with Dr Lebelonyane, Director of Primary Health Care; Dr Thabo M
Phologolo, Chief Health Officer and Dr John Chamboo, ARN Rollout Coordinator the poss ‐ibilities of establishing community safety in Botswana was further explored. The Village
Health Committees and School Health Committees are the probable vectors for reachingdecisions on Safe Communities.
There was indeed a strong support for the idea of establishing both Safe Community
demonstration communities as well as an intersectoral support organization at the national
level of Botswana. The questions is –Who takes the lead in such a development?
These findings were reported to Dr Eugene Nyarko, WHO representative in the country‐ who gave a strong support for such adevelopment.
Rapporteur: Leif Svanström

Drowning injury prevention at Xinjiangwancheng Community, China
This year, Shanghai encountered an unusual hot summer, the maximum temperature reached 40 degrees in 75 years since
Shanghai had meteorological records. The residents went to swim in the river to cool themselves. And the risks had emerged.
The river drowning occurred frequently.
There are 0.77 square kilometres of water area in Xinjiangwancheng Community, accounting for 8.7% of the planning area. It
has the name of Green Ecological Harbour and International City of Wisdom. Therefore, people in surroundings all came to theriver to swim. In order to continually improve the prevention of drowning injury, Xinjiangwancheng Community Water Safety
Working Group adopted the following interventions: i) We print 2 million copies of materials to publicize the danger of wild
swimming and recommend them to go to a regular swimming pool; ii) On river side, we added 84 warning signs to warn theswimmers; iii) We organize volunteers to the river side to advice the swimmers; iv) We invest more than 30 million yuan andemploy 13 members of the Water Security Guard, equipped with lifesaving equipment to make river patrol to avoid theoccurrence of injuries in time.

Re-Designation: Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada
Sault Ste. Marie Safe Communities Partnership hosted a Gala on Saturday June 6, 2009 in recognition of Sault Ste. Marie’s re‐designation as an International Safe Community as required by the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on
Community Safety Promotion. Jocelyne Achat, Vice Chair of Safe Communities Canada., one of seven International Certifying
Centres officially re‐designated Sault Ste Marie on behalf of the World Health Organization. Collaborating Centre.
Sault Ste. Marie Safe Communities Partnership is the umbrella organization for injury prevention in Sault Ste. Marie and it
was instrumental in securing the city’s original designation in 2003 as an International Safe Community, by the World HealthOrganization Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion.
Sault Ste. Marie Safe Communities Partnership owes its success to the work of the volunteer groups that created and continue
to support the organization. Community groups, such as the Algoma Council on Domestic Violence, the Elder Abuse
Prevention Council, Kids Safe Algoma, Risk Watch, Slips Trips and Falls, CEO Charter Committee, and SMARTRISK No
Regrets are committed to improving the safety of every citizen in Sault Ste Marie.
During the Re‐designation Gala, the Risk Watch Coalition of Sault Ste. Marie received special recognition for the
implementation of the Risk Watch home safety programme in every elementary school within the city of Sault Ste. Marie.
It has been through the ongoing support of the Corporation of the City of Sault Ste. Marie, and the work of many volunteers
from the business sector, healthcare, education, police services, fire prevention services and concerned citizens, that Sault Ste.
Marie has demonstrated its capacity to address the safety and well being of every one of its citizens. Its re‐designation as an
International Safe Community recognizes and salutes this ongoing commitment to safety in the community by dedicatedcitizens and organizations in Sault Ste. Marie.

Signing the re‐designation agreement: Jocelyn Achat, Vice chair of Safe
Communities Canada. Standing(L to R): Robert Davies, Chief, Sault Ste.
Marie Police Services; Susan Knianhcki, Vice –President, Board of
Directors, Sault Ste Marie Safe Communities Partnership, John Rowswell,
Mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, and Brian Curran, Chair, Sault Ste. Marie Safe
Communities Partnership.

Receiving the International Safe Communities plaque from
Jocelyn Achat, Vice Chair of Safe Communities Canada areJohn Rowswell, Mayor of Sault Ste. Marie and Brian Curran,

1st Regional Southeastern Europe Safe Communities Conferencein Novi Sad
The 1st Regional Southeastern Europe Conference on Safe Communities was held in Novi Sad, from June 22‐25, 2009. The themeof the Conference ”Safe Children in Safe Communities” was addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective. About 100
representatives from: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Iran, Lithuania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Nigeria,
Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, and USA participated in the Conference. They made the following conclusions: Safety issues at
personal, community, organizational, school, and worksite level, at home, in parks and public places, were identified as major
problems in the Region of South Eastern Europe. Injuries, were found to be major public health problems with economic,
psychological, social, family and individual burden and consequences. Psychological trauma and mental health as importantsafety issues would have to be considered in addition to physical injuries. Human rights issues would have to be included in the
Safety Promotion Movement. Much emphasis would have to be placed on the ways and means to address the problems ofsafety in the local communities and to educate the public how to develop and implement Safe Community Projects in all
Member Countries of South Eastern Europe Region. Provision should also be made to train experts in order to monitor andevaluate the projects and for report writing. Evaluation of current/existing initiatives that have been implemented in the South
Eastern Europe Region would have to be conducted. Identification, needs assessments and financial supports for Safe
Community Movement would have to be developed in all member countries. To identify and define need for and support ofMedia & Media Campaign. Formation of interest groups with common themes to allow for more in‐depth discussions, sharingof experiences and recommendations, in the near future, were suggested as important steps in the field of Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion. This would tremendously help for advocacy and effective policy‐making. The host and organizer of Second
Regional South Eastern Europe Conference on Safe Communities in 2010 will be Croatia.
Reporter: Mirjana Milankov, Serbia

New Safe School in Backi Petrovac, Serbia
On the 20.June 2009. in the first Serbian Safe Community, Municipality of
Backi Petrovac, was designated first Safe school “Jan Cajak”.

South Eastern Europe Safe Community Network was founded in Novi Sad
South Eastern Europe Safe Community Network – SEESCONET was founded. The need to affiliate it with the European
Network and EU Institutions, particularly with WHO Collaborating Center on Community Safety Promotion at Karolinska
Institute, and with other global Networks. The chairlady is Dr Mirjana Milankov. The Countries identified as possible members
are: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldavia,
Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. The office of SEESCONET will be affiliated with the National Center for Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion, Novi Sad, Serbia.

CourseRESEARCH EDUCATION Course 2009
6th International Course ‐ A Ph.D. Course: Research in Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion: Designs,
Methods & Analysis, October ‐ November 2009 (5 weeks)
Stockholm, Sweden, 7.5 Credits
Application deadline: 1 May 2009
Course Organizer: Reza Mohammadi, MD, MPH, PhD
Email: Reza.Mohammadi@ki.se, Phone: +46 8 524 80142, Fax: +46 8 30 73 51
Courses 2009/ 2010
4th International Ph.D. Course on Internet
INJURY SURVEILLANCE AND CODING
1 October 2009 ‐ 31 March 2010 (25% rate)
7,5 Credits
Course Organizer: Professor Lars‐Gunnar Hörte , lars‐gunnar.horte@ki.se
CANADIAN FALLS PREVENTION CURRICULUM 2009
Distance Education Course for seniors’ health and community care providers on the design, implementation and evaluation offall prevention programs for all settings.
English: University of Victoria, http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/
French: University of Edmonton, Campus St. Jean, http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/cerf/
For more information: www.injuryresearch.bc.ca or contact Sarah Elliott at sarah.elliott@gov.bc.ca, Phone 01 250 952 1520, Fax
01 250 952 1570.

Forthcoming Safety and Injury Conferences
2009
International Workshop on “Community Safety Promotion in Asian Context” in conjunction with the 3rd Annual
Conference of the Japanese Society of Safety Promotion(JSSP), August 29, 2009 13:00~16:00
Towada City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
Chairpersons: Prof Joon Pil Cho (Certifying Center for Safe Community in Korea); Prof Takashi Eto (Tokyo University, Presidentof JSSP); Speakers: Prof Lu Pai (Taipei Medical University, Institute of Injury Prevention and Control); Dr. In Guk Kim (HealthCommunity Center, Songpa SC, Korea); speakers from Kameoka SC, Atsugi City, and Towada City, respectively
Non‐simultaneous interpretation between English and Japanese is available.
Free of charge for participants from overseas.
Contact persons for further information: Ms. Tomie Nitobe: tomie@ninus.ocn.ne.jp; Dr. Yoshihide Sorimachi:
yoshihide_sorimachi@hotmail.com
BC Municipal Occupational Health & Safety Conference ‐ Whistler, 13 ‐ 15 September 2009
British Columbia, Canada
http://www.municipalsafety.bc.ca

Second Injury Prevention Conference for UK and Ireland, 24 ‐ 25 September 2009. Cardiff, Wales
http://www.injuryobservatory.net/2nd_injury_conference.html
5th Asian Regional Conference on Safe Communities (ARCSC), Safety, Health, Harmony
18‐20 October 2009. Beijing, China
China Occupational Safety & Health Association (COSHA): http://www.cosha.org.cn
Topicshttp://www.phs.ki.se/csp/pdf/Conferences/conf_news.pdf
Contact persons: Ms Wu Yanhua and Mr Liu Yan: E‐mail: 2009ascc@cosha.org.cn
Address: 21, Hepingli Beijie, Dongcheng District, Beijing , China 100713 . Tel: +86‐10‐64463609; +86‐10‐64463339
Fax: +86‐10‐64463609
Senior Safety‐ future challenges: Nordic Conference. 21 ‐22 October 2009
Karlstad, Sweden
Programme: http://www.phs.ki.se/csp/pdf/Conferences/program_karlstad.pdf
Abstract deadline: 15 May 2009. For information: www.karlstad.se/seniorsafety
Dr Tommy Rosenberg, Head of Knowledge Centre for Senior Safety, Karlstad, Sweden Tommy.Rosenberg@Karlstad.se
European Child Home Safety Conference, 2‐3 November, 2009. Stratford‐Upon‐Avon, UK
Conference information
Submit abstracts by May 30, 2009
E‐mail: JCave@rospa.comJCave@rospa.com. RoSPA, Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Birmingham, B5 7ST, UK
2010
RoSPAʹs 75th Road Safety Congress. 22‐24 February, 2010. Stratford‐upon‐Avon, UK
www.rospa.com/roadE‐mail:events@rospa.com. Abstract deadline: 19 September 2009.
19th International Safe Communities Conference Sustainability of Safe Community Programs23‐ 26 March, 2010. Suwon, Korea
First Announcement www.2010safecom.com/pdf/1st_Announcement.pdf
http://www.2010safecom.org/web_mail/web_mail.html
www.2010safecom.org
Abstract deadline: 31 October 2009
For information: jpcho@ajou.ac.kr
The Second European Regional Safe Community Conference Incorporating the 7th Nordic Conference on Safe
Communities
How to develop Safe Communities in Europe using the Nordic experiences, re‐establishing a European Network of Safe Communities.
19‐20 May, 2010 Reykjavik, IcelandFirst Announcement (short version; long version): www.publichealth.is/SC‐2010Iceland
Contact: Rósa Thorsteinsdóttir
Email: rosa@publichealth.is. Tel: +354 5800900 / +354 8400906. Fax: +354 5800901´
Public Health Institute of Iceland, Laugavegur 116, 105 Reykjavík, Iceland
10th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion 21‐24 September, 2010. ondon, UK
The first formal announcement for Safety 2010 will be issued in January 2009
Call for abstracts: closing date will be Friday 15 January 2010, 17:00 hrs
http://www.safety2010.org.uk
Early bird rate before 30 April 2009 £450.00
Contact: Karen Hughes: Email: k.e.hughes@ljmu.ac.uk . Tel: +44 (0) 151 231 8723
Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Kingsway House, 5th Floor, Hatton Garden, Liverpool L3 2AJ,
UK. Tel: +44 (0) 151 231 4510 | Fax: +44 (0) 151 231 4515

WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Safety Promotion
Karolinska Institutet
Department of Public Health Sciences
Division of Social Medicine
Norrbacka 2nd Floor, SE‐171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
Communication: Koustuv Dalal, Editor (Email: koustuv.dalal@ki.se )