The National Safety Council Receives International Safe Communities Certifying Center Designation

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Mar 29, 2010, 03:51 ET

ITASCA, Ill., March 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On March 25, the World Health Organization designated the National Safety Council as the U.S. leader for the International Safe Communities movement. The designation was made at the 19th International Conference of Safe Communities in Suwon, Korea. NSC is the eighth organization worldwide, and the only one in the U.S., to be designated a "Certifying Center" for Safe Communities. NSC was presented its designation by the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Community Safety Promotion, Karolinska Institutet. NSC now has the authority to officially designate "Safe Communities" across the United States and the globe.

Communities have been seeking the "Safe Community" designation around the world since 1989. Through collaborative safety programs and initiatives, Safe Communities have a structured approach to safety, employ creative methods of education and environmental change, and work in tandem with appropriate local legislation and enforcement. Learn more at www.safecommunitiesamerica.com.

As a Certifying Center, NSC will guide communities to build their capabilities toward qualifying for "Safe Community" designation. Prior to this announcement, the National Safety Council served as an Affiliate Safe Communities Support Center, promoting community development and acting as a mentor in the Safe Communities process. In this role, NSC assisted seven communities in becoming official Safe Communities and has brought national attention to this program, with more than 20 communities currently in various stages of the application process.

"Communities in the U.S. are engaging in this program because they understand the importance of keeping everyone safe where they work, live and play," said Donna Stein-Harris, NSC senior director of Safe Communities America. "This new designation as a Certifying Center gives NSC the ability to accelerate this safety movement to communities across the nation."

The National Safety Council (www.nsc.org) saves lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy.

SOURCE National Safety Council