Popular boy band Westlife have given their full support to Galway-based Irish Water Safety, the statutory body established to promote water safety in Ireland by filming a new TV campaign aimed at delivering water safety messages to youngsters so that our aquatic environments can be enjoyed with confidence and safety.

Roger Sweeney of IWS presenting an Appreciation Award to Westlife for their assistance in promoting water safety.

"The picture-postcard scenes at our waterways that are enjoyed by natives and visitors alike can often mask hidden dangers. Drowning is often a result of people's unfamiliarity with the dangers presented by being in, on or around water. By targeting a specific at-risk age group, this TV campaign will help raise awareness of water safety best practices and help reduce the tragic average of 160 drownings every year in Ireland. Westlife has kindly appeared in this campaign that from this month onwards will be aired on four SKY channels as well as on MTV and Nickleodeon. By targeting specific at-risk groups this new campaign will build on the successes of previous campaigns which included the involvement of personalities such as former Miss World Rosanna Davison, popular DJs Ray D'Arcy Dave Fanning and Gerry Ryan and others such as musicians Mickey-Joe Harte and Sarah Keating. The campaign is also online at YouTube."

The campaign was produced in Galway with background scenes included from Salthill's picturesque promenade. The film is shot and directed by Mal Meehan, who has over 20 years experience in commercial film and interactive media. Mal runs the MEE3D studio from Galway city (www.mee3d.com), specialising in content managed website design, interactive multimedia development, 3D animation, audio post-production and High-Definition video production to broadcast standards.

Another company, Spiddal-based TeleGael generously provided facilities to output the final product in a format for use on SKY TV.

This is an example of a public-private partnership instigated by Irish Water Safety that merges the resources of the private sector and the popularity of bands like Westlife with the need to deliver safety awareness messages from the public interest.

A spokesperson for Irish Water Safety thanks Westlife and SKY, saying: "As the weather improves the outdoor swimming season will be upon us and thanks to the support of Westlife and SKY more teenagers will be instilled with a degree of water safety awareness combined with a sense of responsibility for their own actions that may keep them out of danger over the summer months."

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