RoSPA FORGING LINKS TO PROMOTE SAFETY IN KOREA
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| RoSPA’s Deputy Chief Executive, Errol Taylor is presented with a gift by members of the Korean delegation as David Yearley, RoSPA’s Play Safety Manager looks on. |
Safety campaigners in South Korea are forging links with RoSPA in a bid to reduce accidents throughout their country.
A delegation from the Korean Association for Safe Communities spent three days on a fact-finding mission at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ Birmingham base.
They were particularly keen to hear how RoSPA sets standards for play safety in the UK and abroad, but are also considering using the Society’s work as a blueprint for occupational, road, home, water and leisure safety.
Errol Taylor, RoSPA’s Deputy Chief Executive, said: “KASC promotes the safety and social development of children and potentially vulnerable members of the community, including the elderly and disabled.
“The delegation was impressed by our innovative approach to play safety – ‘play areas should be as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible’ – and by our awards scheme to recognise the play operators who provide real value and service.
“They wanted to learn about standards for play equipment, our inspection service and its relationship to third-party insurance liability.
“The delegates were also briefed on LASER – Learning About Safety by Experiencing Risk – centres, which can be accredited through RoSPA and teach children how to recognise and cope with daily hazards.
“KASC sees RoSPA as a model for developing standards, legislation and awareness-raising in all walks of life. For instance, road safety is a considerable problem in South Korea, with 6,300 deaths a year, compared with 3,200 in Great Britain. The association has already had considerable success, and child fatalities have fallen from 1,400 to 800 in the last five years.”
KASC runs national campaigns and educational programmes involving educators, families and communities. It is a non-profitmaking body, funded partly by the Korean government and large corporations, and seeks to build partnerships with organisations both in Korea and overseas.
“There is considerable scope for RoSPA to help KASC set up the type of tremendous safety infrastructure that is increasingly taken for granted in the UK,” Errol Taylor said.
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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