{"id":75220,"date":"2021-11-16T10:49:33","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T15:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=75220"},"modified":"2021-11-16T10:49:33","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T15:49:33","slug":"nominations-open-for-accessibility-and-inclusion-recognition-award-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2021\/11\/nominations-open-for-accessibility-and-inclusion-recognition-award-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Nominations open for Accessibility and Inclusion Recognition Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brock University community is invited to nominate students, faculty and staff for the annual Accessibility and Inclusion Recognition Award.<\/p>\n

Two awards will be distributed this year \u2014 one recognizing a faculty or staff member and another recognizing a student \u2014 each for their contributions to a community free from discrimination.<\/p>\n

Nominations will be accepted until Tuesday, Nov. 23 via an online form<\/a>. Applications will be reviewed by Brock\u2019s Anti-Ableism and Mental Health Committee (AAMH), which is a working group of the President\u2019s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization. Award winners will be announced Friday, Dec. 3 during an online event celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities.<\/p>\n

Maureen Connolly, Professor of Kinesiology and Chair of the AAMH, said the award has evolved over the past 15 years from when it was first introduced as the Making a Difference Award. Originally recognizing people who made a difference in the lives of learners who require accommodations, the award now recognizes efforts to make the entire Brock community an inclusive, diverse and equitable place for everyone, free from ableism and racism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe award is not only about who\u2019s doing the right things for students, although that\u2019s super important,\u201d she said. “We have staff and faculty who experience disability and manage disability in their lives, so we have more opportunities to practise inclusion and anti-ableism in ways that go beyond the teaching environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connolly said the intention of the award is to strengthen allyship and encourage discussion of how the Brock community can remove barriers that limit access to equality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to think about ourselves as a community committed to inclusion and accessibility,\u201d she said. \u201cFor decades, disability has been seen as a personal tragedy instead of a way of being in the world. If we all live long enough and we don\u2019t die quickly, all of us are going to experience disablement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people do not realize they enact ableism in everyday situations. We need to be more attentive to how we think and act so we can all live more inclusive and dignified lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connolly offered several examples of how employees may demonstrate a commitment to inclusion and anti-ableism in their departments and in the ways they do their work:<\/p>\n