AUSTRADE
Media Release
 

Ollie saves the planet
Thursday, 21 June 2001

An innovative Melbourne-based small business has become a global leader in teaching children across the world to protect and care for the environment.

Sustain Ability International's interactive Ollie Saves the Planet CD and web-based program has captured the imagination of primary school children in Australia, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and will soon be doing so in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and the United States, thanks to advice and support from Austrade through the Export Market Development Grant Scheme.

Developed for five-to-13 year-olds, this world beating educational IT product uses a cast of cartoon mates, headed by Ollie, who cycle and skateboard their way to saving the planet. The program's message is ecological sustainability and the importance of reducing our impact on the environment.

These are goals that children and their parents can help achieve by wise waste management – the message of reduce, reuse and recycle – rethinking their energy and water consumption and encouraging biodiversity.

Sustain Ability International is headed by Jane Stewart and Peter Broadbent, who have spent the past year developing the product for the Middle-East market, as well as negotiating with US authorities to have the program adopted into US schools. Ollie CDs are now in every primary school in the United Kingdom, every primary school in Victoria and in a significant percentage of schools in other Australian states.

Jane, a business woman and environmentalist, designed the program's content with help from a panel of leading environmental educators. Swinburne University's Professor Tim Austin, a multimedia specialist and leading "on-line" educator is responsible for all the animation. Peter has used his business experience and sales background to mould and package the concept into a marketable form.

"The support we've received has been fantastic. There's nothing in the world like this program," says Jane, adding that Austrade's support – and the Australian Government imprimatur that comes with the agency's backing – has helped open doors.

"The program is gaining real momentum worldwide. We've designed the program with the specific circumstances, specific curricula and the cultural and religious sensitivities of each and every market. We're constantly using the feedback we receive from children, teachers and parents to continue improving and adding to the program.

"What's also important for us is that Ollie is completely produced in Australia. We've been asked why we don't manufacture the CDs overseas, but we believe in local production and in using the world-beating IT talent that we have here in this country, and this reflects our philosophy of sustainability.

Jane and Peter have been supported by Austrade staff in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and by Austrade's staff in Washington. Production of CDs for both Saudi Arabia and the UAE is expected to start in early May, after Jane and Peter return to the region to identify key contributors, form a content creation team for each country, organise contracts, and appoint a local agent/distributor.