Pan Pacific Safe Community Network
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‘SAFE COMMUNITIES’ FORM NEW PAN PACIFIC REGIONAL ALLIANCE
A well established grassroots community movement, dedicated to saving lives and reducing the fear, cost and pain caused by preventable injury and violence, has formed a new four-nation alliance.
The ‘Safe Communities’ of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States have united to form the Pan Pacific Safe Communities Network (PPSCN), with the goal of addressing safety issues at a local level and improve the implementation of effective injury prevention and safety promotion practices within the many communities of the Pan Pacific region. Established in Sweden in the 1980s, the driving philosophy of the ‘Safe Communities’ movement is to promote a culture of safety, and to prevent injuries in all areas, for all ages, in all environments and situations, involving government, non-government and community sectors. Collectively there are 106 designated Safe Communities in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. There are also 50 additional communities at different stages of development (as of April 2011).
The Pan Pacific Safe Communities Network holds at its core the principles that safety is a human right; a shared responsibility and an attainable aspiration. Participant communities in all four nations work to promote:
- Safety and wellbeing
- Inclusion
- Participation and partnerships
- Honesty, respect and integrity
- Celebration of strengths and successes
- Appropriate, timely respectful communications
- Acknowledging and welcoming differences.
“The PPSCN represents 15.3 million people who live in a designated Safe Community in this part of the globe. By working together we exemplify the mission and vision of the Safe Communities movement. The Pan Pacific Network is well-placed to steer the growth of the Safe Communities movement now and in the future. From our collective experience, the benefits of having all sectors working together in a coordinated and collaborative way, forming partnerships to promote safety, manage risk and develop safer environments leads to an increase in the overall safety of members”, said the Co-Chairs of the PPSCN.
“This new international alliance will take the ‘Safe Communities’ concept to new heights, and we look forward to welcoming new members from the region to enjoy the benefits this concept has to offer.”
For more information about the Pan Pacific Safe Communities Network (visit www.ppscn.org)
28.04.11