VIA: The Road Safety Awareness Program Rolled Out Across the Production School Network

The VIA road safety awareness program was recently followed by almost 320 students in 19 Production Schools throughout France. The program’s innovative learning methods rely on discussion and creativity workshops to help change behavior.

The VIA Program

Launched by the Michelin Foundation and Total Foundation, the global VIA program is based on a participatory approach to learning, which aims to improve the safety of young people in the city and on the road. The innovative program uses creative learning methods to enable young people to develop their thinking and adapt their behavior to their own environment. Flexible and easy to implement, VIA has already been rolled out in several countries, such as India, Cameroon and Romania, with the ambition of reaching 100,000 young people in three years.

Production Schools, “Another Way to Learn a Trade”

The Production School network has 32 establishments throughout France, all offering a variety of courses to provide students with access to professions that are hiring. Total Foundation has partnered with the French National Federation of Production Schools to achieve the goal of opening 100 Production Schools in France, i.e., one per department, by 2024. Ultimately, close to 4,000 young people will graduate from Production Schools every year.

Creativity Boosts Awareness

Over five months, the young people studying at the Production Schools followed several modules: experience sharing, acquisition of basics, discussion workshops and creativity sessions on messages to be addressed to the general public.

Through designing adverts in small groups and taking part in an interschool competition for the most impactful poster, students could debate and bring their ideas to life with words and drawings.

In all, 53 posters were made and submitted to a vote. Congratulations to the three winners, who received their prizes on Monday, June 29 at a virtual ceremony.

• Discover the global VIA program