Awards focus on unlocking disabled people’s talents

The campaigning disability charity RADAR is looking for people and organisations that are promoting equality despite the recession, as it seeks nominations for its prestigious People of the Year Awards.
This year’s awards feature new categories focusing on the drive for equality, including independent living, IT, the financial sector, access, and careers.
The charity said: “These are some of the areas where progress needs to intensify if we are to unlock the talents of disabled people and come out of recession strong.”
There are also categories for the best factual and fictional TV or radio programmes, in addition to the three top awards: person of the year, lifetime achievement and the outstanding disabled young person of the year.
Last year’s person of the year award was won by Jonathan Naess, who founded the charity Stand to Reason to fight mental health stigma and discrimination.
And the lifetime achievement award went to the disability rights campaigner Sue Maynard Campbell, who had died earlier that year. The award was collected by her sister, and fellow campaigner, Alice Maynard.
The awards, now in their 43rd year, mark excellence and achievement by disabled people and organisations committed to boosting the disability equality agenda.
This year’s awards ceremony will be hosted by Frank Gardner, the disabled BBC security correspondent, who returned to his job after being shot six times by al-Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia in 2004.
The theme for the awards ceremony on 30 November in London is “future proofing disability equality”, with RADAR trying to drive home the message that disability equality matters even more during a recession.
A RADAR spokesman said: “With an equalities bill going through parliament, a pressing need to avoid new inequalities in a recession and an imperative to spend resources where they are most needed, this is the opportunity to help create more equal and effective businesses and a more equal society for the future.”
To make a nomination, visit www.radar.org.uk/awards-2009
All nominations must be received by 1 September.
24 July 2009