Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Insights into Giddy Goanna Program
2.1 Who is GIDDY GOANNA?
2.2 History of Giddy Goanna
2.3 Philosophy of Giddy Goanna
2.4 Media Exposure
2.5 External evaluation
2.6 Future3.0 Components of the Program
3.1 Books

3.2 Health and Safety Demonstration Days for Children
3.3 Web page
4.0 Conclusion
Contact Details

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Utilising a unique and entertaining approach, the Giddy Goanna program endeavours to improve the health and safety of children and their families internationally. This educational program targets children aged 2 -12 years, and revolves around the cartoon character Giddy Goanna and his associates the Careless Cousins, Father Goanna and Spiney. The program has proven to not only have a positive effect on the safety behaviour of targeted children, but also on their parents, grandparents and other close relatives.

Key components of the Giddy Goanna program involve full-colour books, Demonstration Days and the web page (which is being expanded as sponsorship is secured). In the near future, there will also be songs, CD’s videos, Live Show and a TV Show (again when sponsorship is secured). The Giddy Goanna program is administered by a non-profit company, Giddy Goanna Ltd, incorporated in 1995. Within a very short period of time, Giddy Goanna has become widely recognised by children, parents and professional as a truly effective program, destined to remain in demand for many years.

2.0 INSIGHTS INTO THE GIDDY GOANNA PROGRAM

2.1 Who is GIDDY GOANNA?

The Giddy Goanna project revolves around several key cartoon characters, those being Giddy Goanna, the Careless Cousins, Father Goanna and Spiney. It is through the personalities and actions of these characters, that the program is able to actively involve children in a positive, personal interactive process which stimulates them to think about safety issues and to make decisions about appropriate behaviour.

Giddy, the central character, is a child character who is fun-loving, adventuresome and safety-conscious. Giddy is the role-model character for children. The Careless Cousins are also child characters, who unfortunately are not aware of safety issues who need to be guided to play in a safe and healthy manner. Father Goanna, an adult character, was designed so that children would be able to learn what adults should be doing, such as wearing earmuffs when using the chainsaw, while at the same time demonstrating the inappropriateness of child characters using such dangerous equipment. Spiney the echidna, is as an element of intrigue, whose appearance allows children of all ages to interact with the material.

The ‘Goanna’ characters have a friendly cartoon dinosaur look, as the intrigue of dinosaurs is common amongst the 1-10 year old age group. Furthermore, utilization of the ‘Goanna’ transcends issues of sex, race and culture. Internationally, children have proven to have an immense attraction to Giddy Goanna, even when they have no knowledge of what a ‘Goanna’ is. They simply love the look and the name.

2.2 History of Giddy Goanna BACK TO CONTENTS

The Giddy Goanna program has evolved significantly from a simple suggestion, at a Farm Safety Action Group meeting in 1993, that a colouring-in book be developed for children to a fully integrated and highly successful program which has reached some 60,000 children in Australia and is now set to mount the international stage.
That initial suggestion led to the development of the Giddy Goanna characters and the initial 32-page puzzle book, which was presented to the Oakey/Crows Nest Farm Safety Action group in June 1993. The group decided to form a collaborative effort with other organisations in order to affect the Giddy Goanna program. Subsequently, the Southern Queensland Rural Division of General Practice (SQRDGP) adopted Giddy Goanna as one of their initial projects.

The initial grant from the General Practice Branch of the Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health saw the production of the first puzzle book, costume and Giddy Goanna Club material. Following the early success of the project, a non-profit organisation, Giddy Goanna Ltd, was established to enable Giddy Goanna to continue long beyond the short-term nature of project funding. The first stage proved so successful that SQRDGP was able to secure a further eighteen months funding for the Giddy Goanna program, which involved the production of the second book and the first three Club newsletters. Government funding of the program ceased as of November 1997, having provided the basis from which Giddy Goanna can grow and expand into the future.

From its humble beginnings, Giddy has simply grown from strength to strength, with many new programs being developed and more effective means of distribution and promotion continually being explored. Future plans emphasise building on past successes and expansion of the program.
(A more detailed history of Giddy Goanna is available from Giddy Goanna Ltd.)

2.3 Philosophy of Giddy Goanna BACK TO CONTENTS

The Giddy Goanna philosophy emphasises quality, appeal, access, sustainability, cooperation and education. Giddy Goanna aims to produce high quality, educational, yet entertaining material that is very appealing (and demanded) by children aged 2-12 years.

Quality
Giddy Goanna emphasises quality in all elements of the program. From the design, artwork and educational layout of the books, to the distribution of the newsletter, to all Giddy Goanna merchandise, quality is of paramount importance.

Appeal
Very importantly, Giddy Goanna is fun!! The Giddy Goanna program is designed to be fun for children, parents and professionals delivering health and safety messages. Giddy Goanna provides doctors, nurses and school teachers with a fun, yet highly effective manner to discuss various issues of health and safety with children and parents. This more light-hearted approach provides an effective medium for discussing issues that otherwise can be difficult to change or can raise peoples defences.

Access
Giddy Goanna continually strives to ensure that Giddy’s educational material is accessible to ALL children in Australia (and other countries throughout the world as Giddy expands), regardless of geographical location or socio-economic group. In order to keep the prices of books low and the Club free, sponsorship is sought to offset costs. Barriers due to illiteracy are also overcome by the simple text and highly visual nature of the Giddy Goanna program. At present, the main way to obtain Giddy’s book is directly from Giddy Goanna (www.giddygoanna.org or 07 4639 3888). In Australia, newsagents also distribute Giddy’s latest book each year. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds, there was no new book produced in December 2002, so there is no "latest" book in newsagencies.

Sustainability
Giddy Goanna aims to become self-sustaining through the sale of large quantities of low-priced quality resources (such as books, CDs, videos…).

Cooperation
A key aspect of such sustainability is cooperation. The Giddy program endeavours to work with many relevant organisations in developing a unique range of resources. Giddy’s resources are also used by other organisations and professions to meet their objectives in relation to health and safety.

Education
Giddy Goanna is based on positive learning principles, which have proven to be a very effective means of inducing long-term positive behaviour changes in both children and adults. Positive learning principles mean that children learn in an enjoyable learning environment, practising making decisions about good and bad behaviours. The very bright and visual nature of the program engenders attraction, recognition and retention.

The highly relevant and interactive nature of the materials has also been shown to positively influence the behaviour of parents, grandparents and relevant others. This occurs through parents reading to children, the questioning and discussion which the material encourages, and the role modelling that the material promotes.
The multi-focussed nature of the program has been designed so that the messages are cumulative and reinforce each other. Once again, the premise being that each time children see Giddy, it reinforces the health and safety messages Giddy Goanna espouses.

Giddy Goanna endeavours to encourage the healthy choice as the easy choice. It aims to make the ‘ways’ of the health and safety conscious character ‘Giddy Goanna’, the accepted and practised norm. Overall, this project is designed as a fun and subtle way to educate and change the behaviour of the whole household and the community at large. It is foreshadowed that Giddy Goanna will have an enduring positive effect on our next generation.
Giddy Goanna will continue to be focused on fun (and education).

2.4 Media Exposure BACK TO CONTENTS

Giddy Goanna has attracted significant media exposure to date, including various TV shows and the news bulletins on many TV networks, radio stations and newspapers. Giddy receives significant media exposure in Australia, with TV Community Service Announcements being aired on 92% of commercial TV networks, thus reaching most communities in Australia.

2.5 External Evaluation BACK TO CONTENTS

External evaluation and expert advice has been an important feature of the Giddy Goanna program from its beginnings. The Queensland University of Technology were successful in tendering to evaluate the Giddy Goanna program and reported that the program significantly improved the health and safety knowledge of children. Anecdotal evidence showed that Giddy Goanna also proved an effective means of not only changing the behaviours of children, but also of their parents and grandparents. (Further details of the external evaluation report are available on request). The Giddy Goanna program is committed to continued evaluation, both internally and externally.

2.6 Future BACK TO CONTENTS

The range of issues covered and the modalities utilised to deliver the messages will be expanded in the future. Safety issues to be covered incorporate roads, beaches, homes, playgrounds, strangers, sport and electricity. Health issues encompass nutrition, exercise, oral care, skin care, immunisation, hearing, back care, self-esteem, anger management, smoking, alcohol and drugs. Whilst Giddy Goanna places a concerted emphasis on preventing injuries and ill-health, the program will also include basic first aid and living with asthma, diabetes, cancer etc. It is also planned to produce a much wider range of promotional and merchandising material, including songs, musical CDs, videos, Live Touring Show, TV show, CD-ROMs, hats, clothes, drink-flasks, backpacks, stuffed toys etc. The premise being that each time children see Giddy, it reinforces the health and safety messages Giddy Goanna espouses.

3.0 Components of the Program BACK TO CONTENTS

Currently the Giddy Goanna program consists of four main components, those being the books, TV Community Service Announcements, Demonstration Days and the web page.


3.1 Puzzle Books BACK TO CONTENTS

Giddy releases a new book each year on a different health and safety topic. To date, Giddy has five books. Giddy’s books are internationally unique, being full colour, glossy and comprised of puzzles that need an understanding of health/safety issues to be solved. By solving the puzzles, children practice making positive decisions about how to live safely and healthily. These active decision processes can then be easily translated into their real life, thus providing the children with experience in making safe and healthy decisions about their behaviour. Each book is comprised of 32 pages of action-packed fun for children to do over and over again. The centre spread of each book is a board game. The books recommended retail price is $8:00 in Australian dollars ($AUD).

The following provides a list of current and proposed future books in the Giddy Goanna series. The order that proposed themes are released may vary from the order stated below.

Current Books BACK TO CONTENTS

• Giddy Goanna: Farm Safety Fun (1995) covers a wide range of issues, including helmets, sun safety, bikes, swimming, horses, motorbikes, silos, hearing protection, fire, tractors, work-sheds, chemicals, and overhead powerlines.
• Giddy Goanna: Fun on the Farm (1997) covers the similar farm safety issues as the first book, however it also covers animals, safety in the home, at the beach, and crossing the road after the bus.
• Giddy Goanna: Many Farms to Visit (1999) covers the health and safety issues of twelve rural industries, including grain, dairy, cattle, cotton, cane, fruit and vegetables.
• Giddy Goanna: Bikes, Buses & Roads (2000) covers road safety issues such as crossing the road, pedestrian safety, bicycles, school buses and traveling in cars.
• Giddy Goanna: Home Safe Home (2001) covers poisons, falls, fire, electricity, scalds….
Future Books
• Giddy Goanna: Busy in the Backyard (2003) will cover dogs, swings, poisons, falls, pools, fences, and wearing protective gear such as earmuffs…
• Water Safety 2004
• Nutrition and Dental Care 2005
• Fire Safety 2006
• Holidays (camping, beaches, bush-walking) 2007
• Travel Safety 2008
• Personal Safety 2009
• Bush-fires, storms, cyclones, tornados 2010
• Alcohol & Drugs 2011
• Sport and Physical Activity 2012

Target Groups: Children aged 1-10 years, parents and grandparents.

3.2 Health and Safety Demonstration Days for Children BACK TO CONTENTS

The Demonstration Days provide an opportunity to bring the health and safety message alive for children. Essentially, a Demonstration Day consists of transporting children to a nearby site (farm, show-ground, oval), where local experts (doctor, ambulance officer, police, nurses, workplace health and safety officers, and farmers) talk to the children about a variety of issues relevant to their community (such as electricity, drowning, motorbikes, chemicals, animals and alcohol/drugs). Each site has relevant visual aspects, such as motorbikes, horses, and tractors, that capture the children’s attention and implant the safety message in their memory. Importantly, each local community decides what issues need to be covered at their Day, and which local people that would be good at presenting each topic.
A Resource Kit is also available which provides detailed guidelines for the conduct of a Demo Day and the essential components that need to be covered on various health and safety topics. Up to 350 children can attend a Demo Day. Giddy Goanna makes a guest appearance to greet and farewell the children and distributes sample bags with materials to reinforce the safety messages covered during the day. The sample bags have also been seen as important in initiating discussion of the days activities at home.
Target Groups:- All primary and pre-school aged children.

3.3 Web Page BACK TO CONTENTS

Giddy’s vibrant web page includes puzzles on three different health/safety topics, general information on the program, an order form and special offers. The puzzles and special offers are changed every month. A series of Giddy screen-savers will be added to the web-page for children to down-load. This enables Giddy’s health and safety messages to frequently appear in front of any member of the family using the computer.
Target Groups:- Children aged 4-12 years and their families.3.4 TV Community Service Announcements
Giddy produces a set of TV Community Service Announcements (15 sec, 30 sec & 60 sec) each year to complement the latest book released. These contain educational messages and information about the Giddy Goanna program, including how to obtain the books. These Community Service Announcements are aired on 92 % of TV networks in Australia. This will soon be expanded to other countries.
Target Groups:- Children aged 1-12 years and their families.

4.0 Conclusion BACK TO CONTENTS

Giddy Goanna is here to stay! This comprehensive and cohesive program that instills safe and healthy behaviours in children, their families and the next generation will benefit communities throughout Australia for many years. Giddy’s unique and entertaining style will surely assist to make his mark in history, and Giddy provides the medium for a wide range of organisations and individuals to be involved in making a truly positive impact on the health and safety of communities throughout the world.
Contact Details
For further information, please contact Pam Brown at Giddy Goanna Ltd:- (ph) 07 4639 3888, (fx) 07 4639 3899, (email) giddy@giddygoanna.org, (web) www.giddygoanna.org