Poghos Shahinyan, a former official in the Armenian Ministry of Finance, who currently works for an NGO in Armenia, joined the FIA Foundation as part of the John Smith Fellowship Programme, which is managed by the John Smith Memorial Trust and the British Council. The programme, established in memory of the former UK Labour Party leader, seeks to deepen democratic awareness by bringing around 20 young leaders to the UK every year to participate in a study programme and placements with government departments, media and other organisations.
As part of the programme, the FIA Foundation has established a specific road safety placement. Mr Shahinyan, who undertook this year’s placement, visited traffic police, local authority road safety officers, the road safety unit at the Department for Transport and a number of road safety NGOs including RoSPA, Roadsafe and PACTS, as well as the AA and the RAC Foundation. It is hoped that the placement will lead to the establishment and development of road safety institutions in Armenia, a relatively low income country with serious road safety problems.
As well as his road safety studies, Mr Shahinyan participated in the general democracy programme, which included lectures and Q&A sessions with speakers including the President of Georgia, Mikhail Saaskashvili; former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson; and UK Cabinet Ministers Hilary Benn and Lord Falconer.
The visit culminated with a reception at 10 Downing Street hosted by the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, which was also attended by the FIA Foundation’s Chairman, Rosario Alessi.