The winners of the first Scope Disability Equality Awards have been announced, with those honoured including Baroness Jane Campbell DBE, Rose Ayling-Ellis and the British Deaf Association.
The Awards shine a spotlight on individuals, community groups, businesses and role models, who are championing disability equality and changing attitudes.
Baroness Jane Campbell wins the Lifetime Achievement award
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The ceremony, hosted by Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox OBE at Twickenham Stadium, was attended by guests including Scope Ambassadors Ben Elton and Nicolas Hamilton and nominees Christine McGuiness, Cherylee Houston and Ade Adepitan.
Winner Images: https://we.tl/t-9D6YCc8n2k
Red carpet: https://we.tl/t-Uf1phFFtTE
The full list of Scope Disability Equality Awards winners include:
Lifetime Achievement: Baroness Jane Campbell DBE
Baroness Campbell is a disability rights campaigner and crossbench peer. From 1991 to 1995 she chaired the British Council of Disabled People during the height of the campaign for the Disability Discrimination Act. She was Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission from 2006 to 2008. Baroness Campbell has dedicated her life to promoting independence and challenging discrimination.
Young Campaigner: Rhys Porter
After being the subject of online abuse when he posted a video of himself playing football, Rhys was determined to challenge the negative attitudes that so many disabled people face. He gained high profile support from Fulham Football Club, the Football Association and Gary Lineker.
Role Model: Rose Ayling-Ellis
Known for playing Frankie Lewis in EastEnders, Rose became the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, winning the series. Earlier this year, she used BSL to read a CBeebies bedtime story and has partnered with Mattel to launch the first Barbie doll with hearing aids.
Accessible Organisation: Designability: Wizzybug
Wizzybug offer powered wheelchairs to disabled pre-school children giving them independence so they can enjoy more opportunities to play and interact with their friends and family.
Campaign: British Deaf Association: BSL Act Now
This campaign got the backing of thousands of people and secured cross party political support. The outcome was the British Sign Language Act, recognising BSL as a language in law.
Media Moment: Strictly Come Dancing
Rose Ayling-Ellis and partner Giovanni Pernice captivated the country with their dance to Clean Bandit’s ‘Symphony’, which was performed in silence in tribute to the deaf community.
Journalist: Richards Butchins
Richard is an award-winning filmmaker and artist whose work includes investigative documentaries for BBC and Channel 4. His Dispatches programme ‘The Truth About Disability Benefits’ investigated a series of deaths and revealed shocking new statistics around suicides by disabled benefits claimants.
Influencer: Sophie Butler
Sophie uses her social media platform to educate and empower audiences through her weekly ’Sunday school with Soph’ and was the first wheelchair user on the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Purple Pioneer: Ru Jones
Ru uses social media to share struggles and joy, offering an authentic view of life as a disabled person. Ru is also Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Exeter University Guild where they work to improve educational accessibility.
Scope marks its landmark 70th anniversary this year but believes there is still a long way to go before we achieve true equality for disabled people.
Earlier this year Scope polled over 4,000 disabled adults (1) and found 3 out of 4 (72 per cent) said they had experienced negative attitudes and behaviour in the past five years, with 96 per cent of those asked (aged 18-34 years old) saying negative attitudes left them feeling isolated and lonely.
James Taylor, Scope’s Executive Director Strategy Impact and Social Change said:
“It is fantastic to be able to announce the well-deserved winners of the Scope Disability Equality Awards and recognise their amazing contributions to helping drive social change.
“We are marking Scope’s 70th anniversary this year, but there is still so much more to do to achieve a society where all disabled people have equality. A lot has changed in the world over 70 years, but disabled people still face many of the same barriers and negative attitudes.
“The nominees and winners at the Scope Awards show us all there are so many individuals and organisations committed to creating a more inclusive society for disabled people, and they should all be extremely proud of their achievements.”
