In early October of this year, over 1000 of our colleagues from 83 countries converged on Wellington, New Zealand, for Safety 2012, the 11th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. Delegates were treated to warm hospitality, mild weather and an outstanding programme focused on ‘connecting pathways for a vibrant and safer future’.

For me, the highlights included Dr Alan Lopez previewing the 2010 global burden of disease injury estimates, David Engwicht discussing uncertainty and intrigue as ‘mental speed bumps’ for traffic safety, and John Carnochan, a Scottish police officer, who vividly illustrated the intergenerational and community roots of youth violence.

It is also always humbling to see what WHO Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability (VIP), under the capable direction of Dr Etienne Krug, is able to achieve in the course of a biennium. Working …