Inaugural student Re:act Brazil campaign encourages shared responsibility to ‘avoid another name’ being added to road toll.
'Avoid Another Name' campaign creative by Amando Kato, Iago Félix, Matheus Almeida, Juliana Brasileiro, Luiza Gabriela and Ingrid Facó
A road safety education campaign created by young Brazilians, as part of an international road safety
behaviour change program, is launching in Brazil today.
The Re:act road safety behaviour change program challenges university students to raise awareness
among 18-25 year olds of road safety issues to change behaviour and make all road users safer.
Re:act ran in Brazil for the first time in 2022, with the program running in 12 locations this year in North
and South America, the United Kingdom and Australia. As part of the behaviour change program, a panel
of government safety and industry partners in each location selects the most compelling student road
safety campaign, which is launched in public via Re:act’s media partner on out-of-home advertising
assets.
The selected Brazilian campaign, ‘Avoid Another Name’, was created by University of Fortaleza students
to educate drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians that we all have a shared responsibility
to prevent crashes on the roads to save lives. It is being launched today through Re:act’s foundation
Brazilian media partner, JCDecaux.
“This is the first time Re:act has run in South America and I could not be more impressed with the support
we have received and the campaigns the Fortaleza students produced,” Re:act Founder and CEO Andrew
Hardwick said.
“The success of the program reflects the amazing commitment of the University of Fortaleza, particularly
through Professors Tarcisio Bezerra and Davi Rocha, and foundation program partners AMC Transito, City
Hall, Vital Strategies and JCDecaux to the Re:act program and, more broadly, to addressing road trauma
among young Brazilians.
“Fortaleza is globally renowned as a leader in road safety and we are so proud that our unique program
can play a part in building on those achievements.”
Fortaleza Mayor José Sarto added: “The Re:act campaign expresses the students’ creativity and talent, but
also shows that youth engagement is an important part in changing behaviour for safer roads.
“These are young people talking to young people, raising awareness, calling for responsibilities and
influencing new attitudes. Congratulations to the organizers and to everyone who participated in this
initiative.”
“The Re:act project represents an important but challenging achievement,” added University of Fortaleza
Professor Davi Rocha, “creating a learning experience that encourages students to become better
professionals and human beings simultaneously.
“Participating as the lecturer in charge of the first Re:act held in Brazil was, without a doubt, a privilege and
an amazing experience.”
Dante Rosado, Road Safety Coordinator for Brazil at Re:act program partner Vital Strategies, added: “The
Re:act program is an excellent idea to promote academic and social engagement with the road safety
agenda. Participating as part of the panel and exchanging knowledge with the students was a great
experience. I am pleased with the final result and congratulate all students on the ideas presented.
“I expect this first step into their professional and academic life can help inspire them and others and I am
confident the campaign will achieve its primary goal of promoting good behaviour in traffic.”
Caio Torres, consultant at Re:act program partner Autarquia Municipal de Trânsito e Cidadania (AMC), said:
“Young adults are the main road traffic injury victims. It is important to work on raising awareness of this
target audience.
“The Re:act program is a promising initiative as it engages academia and its students in the challenge of
changing behaviour among young drivers. It was a great pleasure to contribute to the Brazilian program
and exchange experiences with the participants.”
JCDecaux Brazil General Manager Ana Celia Biondi added: “We understand that road safety initiatives like these save lives, and we are very proud to contribute to this important message achieving a wider audience, making available our street clocks in two big cities in Brazil: Fortaleza and São Paulo, South America's largest metropolis.”
In coming weeks a documentary will be launched telling the story of the inaugural Re:act program in Brazil
from the point of view of participating students and program partners.
