SLSQ’S Community Aw AwAreneSS progrAmS Aim to ChAnge behAviourS And potentiALLy SAve LiveS through eduCAtion And inCreAS re ed underStA reAS t nding. tA
slsq’s community awareness programs aim to change behaviours and potentially save lives through education and increased understanding of our key beach safety messages. this frontline approach to safety allows the public to make potentially life saving informed decisions before stepping onto the beach. programs are designed to help spread the message of swimming between the red and yellow flags to target audiences, highlighting potential dangers, and the consequences of uninformed access to our beaches. during the 2012/13 season, our community awareness efforts educated more than 300,000 people about beach and aquatic safety. targeted community awareness programs aim to improve outcomes for our front line members and increase the impact of our key messages by engaging the public. an additional benefit of community awareness activities is the increased engagement of our youth members and leaders. many of our community awareness presenters and program facilitators are young surf lifesavers and future leaders from across queensland. by building their skills and providing a career and development pathway, the community awareness programs assist in engaging and developing our young members.
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participation at public community events and expanding our reach into the corporate sector through workplace health and safety program visits has led to increased recognition of our organisation’s core vision in the wider community. We have also increased recognition of the importance of community awareness through the implementation of the slsq community awareness program of the year award, with the winner representing queensland at the slsa national awards. many of our community awareness programs have also contributed to growing member numbers at clubs, the bls and junior activities programs. While slsq’s public awareness initiatives are designed to educate all members of the community, specific programs target these high-risk groups: • men aged 18-25 years • rural populations • international tourists • domestic tourists • people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds • schools and communities
slsq annual report 12–13