Examples: MobileKids India - thousands of young ambassadors

India faces a special situation and special challenges. Its economy is exploding, which means more infrastructure, more cars, more roads — and more accidents. When children are involved, that's generally because they have no idea of traffic regulations or road safety and are unable to evaluate the dangers.

Educating them in this regard is a mammoth task, not least because of the sheer physical size of the country, with its immense population and 18 different languages. State institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have formed an alliance that was joined by Mercedes-Benz India in 2005 and has meanwhile launched a MobileKids movement in four major cities. Some 20 schools and several thousand children are involved in the project. "The only chance of success here is through the targeted use of information multipliers," emphasizes Manas Dewan, Senior Manager Corporate Communications at Mercedes-Benz India.

Enlarge That means training teachers to deal with MobileKids topics in regular classroom teaching and encouraging the participating youngsters to spread the message within their families and circles of friends – in other words, making them "ambassadors for road safety." MobileKids also receives a great deal of support from political and administrative bodies on the regional level, local NGOs, trade associations, and the media. Indeed, the campaign in India has developed into a strong platform with a lot of local input.

At the same time, teaching methods and materials have been tailored to the country's needs. These include special workbooks, role plays, quizzes, outdoor events, painting competitions, and contests between the schools involved. Worthy of particular mention is Smarty's World. "To my knowledge, there's nothing else quite like it in India," says Dewan. Featuring humorous pictures and adventure stories, this colorful book fills a dry topic with life and really gets the message over to the kids.