Three quirky, accident-prone cartoon characters are helping to spread serious safety messages aimed at young workers by creating an online buzz.
The Speak Up, Stay Safe viral campaign launched by the British Safety Council earlier this month has already received the backing of the biggest health and safety and children’s welfare organisations.
Most of the coverage of the campaign online and in the print media, and the use of cartoon imagery which shows a giraffe, dog and rabbit having nasty accidents in the workplace, has been very positive, although the short films have received some criticism from bloggers on a parenting site.
But the campaign and the films are being backed by, among others, The Children’s Society, YouthNet, Public Concern at Work, Child Safety Education Coalition and the Health and Safety Executive, as well as parents of young people killed in the workplace.
Mick Murphy, father of Lewis Murphy, 18, who died in a fireball at a garage where he worked in East Sussex, attended the launch of the campaign with his wife Elizabeth and approved of the use of the films to promote serious messages.
“The point of using cartoon characters is to get young people talking about them and alerting their friends and colleagues and to start discussing the serious points behind the imagery,” he said. “Putting out stodgy public information messages just wouldn’t appeal to most youngsters. The films are deliberately satirical to make people sit up and take notice and to create a debate, and they appear to be doing just that.
“Young people need to be made aware of their rights and who to call if they are worried about health and safety standards at work before they are put at risk of injury or death. The British Safety Council campaign is a great way to get a serious message across in an ironical or fun way that young people will share. The campaign also features a number of serious interviews on the Speak Up, Stay Safe YouTube site with parents who have lost their children to workplace accidents, young workers, teachers and employers.
“Every 40 minutes a young person is seriously injured in the workplace – 3,200 16-19 year olds in 2009 – and 66 under 19s have died in the past ten years. All of these deaths and injuries were avoidable if health and safety procedures had been followed. This is simply unacceptable. We want to empower young people to speak up if they feel unsafe. If a viral campaign used in conjunction with cases such as my son’s story can make a difference, then I am all for it.”
