As a nonprofit organisation, the AviAssist Foundation relies on contracts and support from governments, corporations and foundations as well as fees for services. It:

1. Promotes safety
2. Assists in meaningful African exposure towards accessing a growth market and
3. Creates goodwill for its partners

The Foundation bases its activities on the Focus Areas of the Global Aviation Safety Roadmap(GASR). The GASR was produced by the Industry Safety Strategy Group (ACI, Airbus, Boeing, CANSO, FSF, IATA & IFALPA) to guide safety support activities worldwide. It works with Focus Areas that are prioritised on the basis of numerous intelligence sources. This will enable tailoring any future safety support to the region. The AviAssist Foundation works in line and co-ordination with the Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa (ACIP) from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The programs of the Foundation are based on its annual plan but the agenda certainly also leaves room to craft tailor made programs in line with your organisation's prime skills & resource focus.

1. Promoting professionalism in African aviation safety - SafetyFocus magazine

The AviAssist Foundation works hard to put tools and information directly in the hands of the professionals who need them. It’s true that more and more safety information can be found on the internet. However, safety promotion in Africa cannot yet fully rely on the internet. Many times we find that the people who do the real work, have limited or unreliable access to the internet. African professionals need safety information that they can hold in their hand. Access to safety information should not be limited by the bandwidth of your connection or your ability to pay. By reaching out for industry support in the form of advertising, we can make the magazine available largely for free - contact us to discuss how to combine your marketing with goodwill creation in the African market. With SafetyFocus, we provide professionals working in or with Africa aviation safety with vital and timely safety information.

Click here for a leaflet on our SafetyFocus magazine

2. Assist in accurate reporting on African aviation safety issues

The Foundation talks to the news media and helps them be accurate in their aviation safety stories related to Africa. It includes leading African news organisations in its efforts and has worked with global news agencies and organisations such as ABC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Voice of America, Bloomberg and Aljazeera English. 

3. African aviator award

Starting in 2012, the AviAssist Foundation will single out individuals, organizations or teams that have made especially outstanding contributions to risk reduction, often during long periods or entire careers and award the African aviator award. Each year of awarding, the AviAssist Foundation will select a particular aviation profession as the focus for the award. The awarding event will take place in front of a distinguished audience of industry leaders at a major aviation event in the African region. For the launch edition of the award in 2012, the profession of air traffic management/control in its widest sense has been selected in co-operation with CANSO.

For a flyer on the 2012 African aviator award, click here.

For a nominations form for the 2012 African aviator award, click here. Nominations no later than 1 September 2012.

4. Airport wildlife management program

The Foundation runs a support program on lowering risks of wildlife dangers to aviation. Bird strikes are the most notable of those. The program focuses on East Africa. The Foundation has played a critical role in setting up the Interim East African Wildlife Management Committee which is foreseen to be associated with the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) of the East African Community. The Foundation coaches the committee in its activities and moderates an internet user group on the subject (AirportWildlifeAfrica Yahoo group).

5. Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting program

In support of ICAO audit findings throughout the region, the Foundation has commenced a combined ab-initio/refresher trainng program. The program is foreseen to run at least one 1 week training in East and Southern Africa each year, with October 2011 seeing the first training. Its sustainability will be strengthened through a twinning program with airport fire brigades from airports elsewhere in the world as well as a Foundation moderated internet user group. More information in this leaflet.

6. Aeronautical Information Services/Management

In support of the implementation of the ICAO Roadmap from AIS to AIM, the Foundation will commence a training program on this subject to support phase 1 of the ICAO Roadmap. The sustainability of the training programs will be strengthened through  a Foundation moderated internet user group. More information in this leaflet.

7. Airside safety & apron planning support program

To address the large number of airside related incidents & accidents, this program will provide training and long term support. More information on the program in this leaflet.

8. Training Centre Capacity Building Program (TCCP)

Many aviation training centres in East and Southern Africa (ESAF) carry plenty of hard (technical) skills courses in their curriculum. Such courses would e.g. address the maintenance of navigational aids. Yet, an extensive IATA study on African aviation training needs clearly highlighted the need for soft skills training. Such training puts more emphasis on proc­esses, management & communi­cation in aviation safety manage­ment. The Aviassist Foundation is roll­ing out its Training Centre Capac­ity Building Program (TCCP) to address this issue in relation to safety (related) courses. The TCCP aims to supplement ICAO’s ef­forts to make states self sufficient in imparting safety training. For an information leaflet, click here.

9. Safety Management Systems training

This program provides personnel responsible for planning, directing or managing aviation safety programs and supervisors who are required to supervise an accident prevention/risk management program with financially accessible introductory skills needed to set up a safety management system. 

10. Data driven safety management program

Regular Services

a. Making “best practices” and “innovations” accessible to aviation safety professionals

The Foundation will use all means available (e.g. monthly dispatches of African aviation news and website)to share “best practices” and “innovations” amongst the African aviation community.

b. Sensitise African Governments on international aviation requirements

A common misunderstanding in the aviation community is that African governments are very well aware of the international regulatory requirements on aviation safety. It is often unclear to political key players outside the aviation world what the international obligations of a state are. These political key players outside the aviation world do not necessarily know that ICAO is one of the few UN affiliated bodies that actually issues binding safety regulations. Equally, they may not be aware of increasing international pressure from for example blacklisting. As a result of that, the Directors of Civil Aviation (authorities) in many African governments have to struggle with a Cabinet and a Parliament that do not necessarily have aviation (safety) high on their list of priorities. To support their cause, the Foundation will issue a number of leaflets that may assist aviation administrations of ESAF countries in sensitising non-aviation members of government. The Foundation will start building a database of relevant contacts which it will target with such communications.

c. Widely advocate relevance of aviation safety for general economic development

To continue the breakdown of the traditional silo’s of aviation, tourism and general economic development, the Foundation will sensitise foreign diplomatic missions in the ESAF region on the relevance of aviation safety to general economic development. Also, it will sensitise other relevant organisations, such as development organisations and Ministries of Foreign Affairs of countries with co-operative programs in the ESAF region. To that end, the Foundation will continue building a database of relevant contacts which it will target with regular communications.

d. Providing intelligence on safety financing

One of the core competences of the Foundation is to provide intelligence to aviation administrations in the ESAF region on potential sources & methodologies of funding. These sources may be of assistance to aviation administrations in financing the improvement of (infrastructural) safety systems. Coming from a tradition of being highly top down managed organisations in regulated economies, thresholds are often (unnecessarily) perceived as high by staff and management of aviation authorities to open a dialogue with (foreign) funding institutions. By taking a pro-active and innovative approach that commences with a search for expertise instead of funding per se, the AviAssist Foundation has build a track record of mobilising external financial sources.

The Foundation will address specific requests by ESAF aviation administrations to assist in locating potential funding sources as well as distribute relevant general information to such administrations at its own discretion. It can also assist with the provision of independent reviews of terms of reference for safety related projects through expertise in its network. It will however not engage merely in selection of experts or consultants for projects which aviation administrations may want to undertake.