Royal Life Saving: Water Safety Awareness Campaign.

Background

Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) partnered with The LOTE Agency to design and deliver the annual Water Safety Awareness Campaign, targeting CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) communities across Australia. Now in its third year, the campaign focuses on culturally tailored messaging to promote water safety and reduce drowning incidents. The campaign is part of an ongoing, multi-year collaboration aimed at building a sustainable framework for water safety education within CALD communities.

The campaign supports 14 key language groups, delivering multilingual assets and grassroots community engagement to ensure inclusivity and cultural relevance. The 2024-2025 campaign builds on the success of previous years and emphasises co-design and direct collaboration with CALD leaders to refine messaging and expand outreach. Year on year, the RLS has been able to achieve increased funding, to engage more meaningfully and collaboratively with the communities they serve. This has included an increase in the number of language groups targeted as well as including project budget a for cultural advisory board for the 2024-2025 summer water campaign.

Our services

• **Cultural Advisory Group (CAG):\

**Established a group of 11 community leaders representing key CALD language groups to co-design culturally sensitive water safety messaging. This included focus groups and workshops to ensure alignment with community needs.

• **Translation and Asset Development:\

**Translated and tailored campaign assets into 14 languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Simplified), Dari, Hazaragi, and Vietnamese, ensuring linguistic and cultural accuracy.

• **Media and Grassroots Engagement:\

**Executed a nationwide ethnic radio media buy across 18 ethnic stations and distributed assets through digital and social channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook, and community networks.

• **Community Outreach:\

**Engaged over 500 community groups, leveraging The LOTE Agency\'s National Advisory Group for distribution and collaboration with peak stakeholders, local councils, and multicultural organizations.

• **Evaluation and Reporting:\

**Collected community feedback and campaign insights to measure impact and identify opportunities for improvement.

Impact

The Water Safety Awareness Campaign has achieved significant outcomes, including engaging over 14 language groups with culturally tailored messaging to promote water safety in the 2024-2025 summer campaign - overseen by a cultural advisory board of key community leaders and stakeholders.

Summer 2023-2024 project outcomes cover:

• Distributing campaign materials to over 436 organizations with

an open rate of approximately 44.42%.

• Conducting a media buy across 18 ethnic radio stations,

achieving nationwide coverage.

• Reaching over 500 community groups through grassroots outreach,

including partnerships with organizations such as Adelaide Nepal and the Chinese Community Council of Australia.

• Receiving positive feedback from CALD communities on the campaign\'s

relevance and clarity, with recommendations for ongoing community engagement activities.

Demonstrated experience

• Co-Design with Community Leaders: Engaging CALD leaders to

create culturally relevant strategies and materials.

• Multilingual Communications: Translating and tailoring campaign

assets for diverse linguistic audiences.

• Grassroots and Digital Engagement: Using local networks and

ethnic media to amplify campaign reach.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Partnering with multicultural

organizations, councils, and advocacy groups to enhance campaign delivery.

Conclusion

The LOTE Agency's collaboration with Royal Life Saving Australia demonstrates the value of culturally tailored water safety campaigns in reducing drowning incidents and promoting inclusivity. By centring CALD voices and fostering strong community partnerships, this ongoing initiative builds a sustainable framework for water safety education in Australia.