Ennia Jones

My work is driven by a clear public safety and participation issue: many adults in Australia have never had a meaningful opportunity to learn to swim, yet they live in a country where water shapes family, recreation and community life. I am particularly concerned about culturally and linguistically diverse adults, who can face fear, cost, shame, cultural expectations, previous experiences and a lack of suitable adult pathways.

I founded A Splash of Colour Swimming after seeing that this gap was not only about lessons or access to a pool. It was about dignity, confidence, safety and belonging. Adults were being asked to enter systems largely designed for children, often without the trust, language, cultural understanding or trauma-informed support needed to begin and continue.

What began as a community response has grown into a not-for-profit adult learn-to-swim and water safety organisation working across multiple states. Through Splash, I work with aquatic providers, community organisations, instructors and water safety bodies to improve adult access, confidence and participation. Our programs now support hundreds of adults, with strong demand and a significant waiting list, and the work has been recognised through sector awards, speaking invitations and opportunities to contribute to national water safety conversations.

I serve on Royal Life Saving’s National Multicultural Community Advisory Group, contributing to national conversations on multicultural water safety and drowning prevention.

My 2026 Churchill Fellowship builds on this work. I will study adult behaviour change models that improve water safety participation and examine how other countries help adults move from awareness to action. My goal is to bring practical learning back to Australia that can inform policy, program design, instructor practice and stronger adult water safety pathways helping Australia build safer families, more inclusive aquatic spaces and stronger community participation.