Disability awards widen recognition

THIS year’s International Day of People with Disability Ballarat Awards have been expanded and will feature six categories.

As well as the Accessible Organisation Award – also known as the Shane Everard and Matt Mattson Award – new categories are an Accessible Sport Award, an Art and Creativity Award, a Young Accessibility Leader Award, an Accessibility Advocate of the Year award, and the Accessibility Ally Award.

The Accessible Organisation Award is presented annually by the City of Ballarat to a local business or not-for-profit organisation that has demonstrated outstanding commitment to making its venue, services or products accessible to people with disabilities.

The City is part of a group that has put the expanded awards lineup together, consisting of the Ballarat Working Together Group, Victorian Home and Community Care (VHCC), LaTrobe Community Health and Sports Central.

VHCC western Victoria regional manager Ashley McNeight said the group had decided on the expansion to better reflect work being done in various disability sectors.

“There’s been awards every year, but this year is the first year that we’ve got six categories,” he said.

“We wanted it to be more inclusive within the community; we wanted to try and touch more aspects of the community.

“With the youth leader award (for example) we want to try and get the youth involved and acknowledge the work they’re doing as well.”

Mr McNeight said the Accessible Organisation Award had been running for some time.

“But we wanted to look at other categories as well – arts, there’s some great stuff that’s happening within the disability arts community,” he said.

Award nominations are open now and will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 16 November.

Nominations can be made online on the City of Ballarat’s website by navigating to the Community; Disability, Access and Inclusion; and International Day of People with Disability Awards section.

Alternatively, nominations can be submitted via video or audio presentations, or a paper version.

To request a paper-based version of the form, contact City community inclusion officer (access and inclusion) Meg Lawton by email at [email protected] or by phone on 0429 437 552.

Nominees must be living, working, studying, regularly visiting, or connected to the City of Ballarat local government area.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility function room starting at 10am on Wednesday 3 December.

Registrations to attend the ceremony can be made through Humanitix.