Excellence in Diversity Awards

Tag: NDA Winner

  • Youth Media Agency #PressChange4Youth – Diversity Marketing Campaign of the Year

    Youth Media

    We spoke to Susana and The Team at Youth Media Agency to catch their reactions after winning The Diversity Marketing Campaign of The Year Award for #PressChange4Youth at The Excellence in Diversity Awards 2015. Here’s what Susana & The Team had to say:

    We were initially really surprised that we’d even been nominated, that was pretty cool considering the other nominees, we were then totally shocked and really honoured that we’d actually won. It’s been 4 years since we started the campaign and it feels like an incredible appreciation for all the hard work that young people have put into the mission. The night was incredible, we all felt really spoilt, we are still in contact with some people we met, and we all felt very inspired. All of you at EiDA make a really amazing team.

    How did you feel about the other shortlisted nominees within your category?

    The other candidates were really inspiring so it was an honour to involved with this group. They were just incredible calibre of nominees which is why we thought we wouldn’t win; we had actually been promoting the BBC Local Apprenticeship Scheme which is a brilliant opportunity for young people across the UK. Pride in London and Rainbow Laces, who have been important campaigns, for those within the LGBT community and how they’re miss-represented within the press and this, was really important. It was also nice to get the award from ITV.

    Where are you going to go from here with your work?

    We’re building on the strength of winning this award and we’re really proud of it, we’re going to apply for some funding to take the campaign further into discussions with the press regulator, looking at how we can be more strategic. The award will also hopefully boost the work that the social enterprise has been doing for the last 4 years, working with charities, government and youth organisations to help build campaigns. Like #XXVOTE and #Page3takedown

    What does Diversity & Inclusion mean to you?

    Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do, we felt like young people lack a voice in the UK press and they are being negatively stereotyped. Obviously BAME feature heavily in this agenda and 70% of our network is BAME to encourage their voice in particular. For example we have linked up Samuell Benta with London Live and many others to Mainstream media.

    Where does this rank within your Diversity & Inclusion achievements?

    Pretty High, I’d say the biggest achievement was the Youth Media Summit 2014, bringing over 400 mainstream and youth media delegates to the BFI last August. The Award comes a close second, politically, it’s never been more important; we feel this is a huge achievement to have got this award.

    What were yours and your colleague’s thoughts on the awards?

    We were really impressed with the awards. The level of professional organisations was outstanding; I wasn’t expecting such a lavish affair. It is the best event I’ve been to in a long time. My gratitude to the Excellence in Diversity Awards is huge, I know how much hard work goes into an event, it made it extra special, great venue, great food, the award itself, it’s a great achievement. The nominations were truly inspiring, the stories are more important than some of the stuff we get on TV, it’s a shame that the press don’t take more notice. You guys are playing an important role within Diversity & Inclusion. Huge thank you to all the guys at EIDA from all of us at Youth Media Agency.

     

  • Shabang! ….Live Love Laugh Learn

    Shabang ThumbnailShabang! is all about raising awareness, promoting inclusion and acceptance, and celebrating difference.

    To this end we build networks of families with children with additional needs, bringing them together under the supportive umbrella of our arts  based projects – life enhancing and confidence building; and hopefully giving everyone a great time.

    As winners of the National Diversity Award Community Organisation for Disability it looks like we are making progress, in our Shabang! bubble at least!

    However, at the heart of what we get up to at Shabang!, it can feel like being in a strong magnetic field with forces pulling one way and then another.

    Whilst we celebrate difference, enjoying our little square pegs, trumpeting their unique qualities and giving space to our children to be themselves, we are also wishing the world would see them as just kids. See the child before you see their difference, lose the label, don’t judge a book by its cover, all men are equal etc.

    National Diversity AwardsLet’s look at the family model. When a baby is born with Down Syndrome for example, the family  will go through a phase of re adjustment  i.e. “this wasn’t the baby we were expecting but let’s get on with it”. A phase which can vary from a few fleeting moments to weeks, months or years.

    Nevertheless in most cases, acceptance eventually comes with love. The family love the child, see them as their own person and the extra chromosome no longer dominates how the child is included in the family.

    In Shabang world we aim for the same sort of acceptance – where all families value each other’s children equally. We would like to think that we have created a place where acceptance and love is the key to everything. The real trick however, is how we roll out this model into the wider world. 

    So how then do we help the world to love, celebrate, include and genuinely accept those with difference?

    Equality laws go a long way but changing hearts is the real trick.

    To be honest, we think people with an intellectual disability are too often regarded as somehow “less important”. They are seen as not having as much to give to society. There is an implication that people who are cognitively different are emotionally different too. That they don’t count in the same way. Could it be, we think that somehow they carry a lower price tag or are of less worth and consequently less human than the rest?

    Are you less of a human being because your brain works differently, or slower than your typically developing peers? In the end it has to come down to a belief system wherein we are all regarded as equal. We all have an equal right to be here.

    Let’s not forget that 90% of pregnancies in Europe with a diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome are terminated. We have a huge fear factor to work some magic on here too.

    So back to our magnetic field. How do we achieve this? Well at Shabang! we chisel away at the edges. Apart from helping families of children with additional needs feel proud, confident and proactive we also look for other ways to wave our flag at the world.

    We create beautiful calendars with models with additional needs – in the hope that the more walls they hang from, the more our children will be seen as “everyday”. 

    We post short films on YouTube promoting understanding so that the most common myths are challenged.

    National Diversity AwardsWe make children’s DVDs starring actors with additional needs – in the hope that the more exposure our children have in the media the more familiar they become. How we long for TV and film to embrace intellectual disability in the same way, then we really would be getting somewhere n.b. A Shabang! series on CBBC would be great, yes please!

    Once we reduce the fear, achieve familiarity and improve acceptance then we must work on inclusion, integration and equality. Equality doesn’t just mean “same”. Equality involves accepting, celebrating and embracing our differences.

    At Shabang! we say “Live, Love, Laugh, Learn” 

    We know we are only just starting to scratch the surface , but believe us – we will keep scratching! 

    If you would like to find out more or buy a Shabang calendar follow this link:

    https://www.shabang.org.uk/product.php?id=63