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Leonard Cheshire Disability launches Ability Media International Awards

18 November 2009

The charity Leonard Cheshire Disability launched its inaugural awards ceremony, the Ability Media International awards (AMIs) on Tuesday November 17th, presented by Moira Stuart OBE at King’s Place, London.

Moira Stewart OBE hosting the AMI Awards 2009
Moira Stewart OBE hosting the AMI Awards 2009
Developed in conjunction with leading figures in the media industries, the AMIs seek to identify outstanding creative projects that encourage a more inclusive world for disabled and marginalised groups of people.

Winners have been chosen for creative excellence in producing work that positively represents, involves or assists people facing major physical, mental, emotional or social challenges.

Moira Stewart, OBE, says: “I am genuinely delighted to host the Ability Media International Awards, the first and only of its kind in the world, which celebrate inclusion and diversity in the creative industries. There has been no tokenism in these awards; the first criterion is outstanding creative excellence. These awards are providing role models of creative brilliance to which the students of Leonard Cheshire Disability’s Ability Media Centre can aspire.”

Jane Fletcher, Eric Prescott, Wayne Drew, Moira Stewart, Ilyas Khan and Sue Townsend attending the Ability Media International awards 2009
Jane Fletcher, Eric Prescott, Wayne Drew, Moira Stewart, Ilyas Khan and Sue Townsend at the AMI Awards 2009
The categories reward projects across a wide range of media, ranging from web-based media, corporate videos and news and information media, to theatre, dance, opera, film and television.

In addition, a number of ‘Champion Awards’ and ‘Fellowship Awards’ were presented to individuals that have demonstrated or fostered excellence in the media industries, which is inclusive, inspirational and outstanding. Winners include BBC children’s presenter Cerrie Burnell, journalist Frank Gardner and author Sue Townsend.

Cerrie Burnell says: “It can be incredibly difficult to work in the media and get the recognition you deserve, if you have a disability but with initiatives like Ability Media and employers like the BBC, things are changing. The media is our most powerful influence and should be a true reflection of society and look to strive to counter prejudice. I hope by receiving this award that I can inspire others to fight for their place and pursue careers in the media."

The AMIs are part of Ability Media, a new initiative from Leonard Cheshire Disability, also launching today. Statistics show that currently eighteen percent of the UK population is affected by disability, yet only four percent works in the media industry[1].

Ability Media has been set up to redress this imbalance, by empowering more disabled and under-represented groups of people to gain qualifications to pursue careers in mainstream media, giving them access to the powerful communication platforms of film, television, radio and online media.

The hub of the initiative is the Ability Media Centre, which is fully equipped with state of the art facilities, to provide specialist courses in production and post production, animation, graphic design, music technology and interactive media.

Paul Rhys awarding Sir Anthony Sher OBE at the AMI Awards 2009
Paul Rhys awarding Sir Anthony Sher OBE at the AMI Awards 2009
Ability Media Productions, a company comprising of students, staff and graduates of Ability Media, is launching to make programmes for private companies and content for Ability Media Radio and Ability Media TV, which will launch in 2010.

Jane Fletcher, Director at Leonard Cheshire Disability, says: “We are delighted to be launching Ability Media and the AMI awards today, and have received overwhelming support from prominent members of the media and creative industries. We hope to ensure that disabled people will be better represented in the media industry and have more influence on civil society as a result.”

Wayne Drew, Chairman of the AMIs and Creative Board of Ability Media, comments: “These awards have been designed to identify outstanding achievements which help promote a better, more tolerant and inclusive world.”


[1] Source: Skillset 2008 Creative Media Workforce Survey, Skillset/UK Film Council Feature Film Production Workforce Survey 2008. Statistics used include those working in Broadcast, facilities, animation, interactive media and computer games, and film production.

AMIs award categories and winners

Janine Roebuck at the AMI Awards 2009
Janine Roebuck at the AMI Awards 2009
  • Champion Awards: Cerrie Burnell (Actress and Television Presenter), Janine Roebuck (Opera Singer), Alison Walsh (Disability Advisor, Channel 4)
  • The Fellowship Awards: Frank Gardner (Journalist and Author), Sue Townsend (Author)
  • The Television Award: The Street by Jimmy McGovern
  • The Orange Film Award: Skin
  • The Interactive Media Award: Judge for Yourself by Interlink Communications for the National Probation Service
  • The Web Based Media Award: Starbucks, V2V Project
  • The Corporate Video Award: Dignity, Produced by I-Motus LLP for The Royal College of Nursing
  • The News and Information Media Award: www.vir.us, Standard Chartered Bank
  • The Photography Award: Offscreen, Stephen Stapleton
  • The Local Hero Award: Semmerwater, for the Swaledale Festival
  • The Literature Award: The Wilderness, by Samantha Harvey, Produced by Jonathan Cape
  • The Visual Arts and Exhibitions Award: The Arts Awards Programme from Cancer Council Victoria, Australia; Celebrating Life and Hope Through Art
  • The Dance Award: Signdance Collective, Isolte Avia Degraal
  • The Opera Award: Doctor Atomic, the English National Opera
  • The Theatre Award: The Tempest, The Baxter Theatre Centre and The Royal Shakespeare Company
  • The Radio Award: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a Graeae and BBC Radio 4 production
  • The New Talent Award: Crazie Productions

For more information on the AMIs please visit www.amiawards.org


More information on the categories and winners, as well as quotes from all winners is available on request. Please contact: or

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Editors Notes

Images from the awards will be available to download on www.amiawards.org

The Ability Media Creative Board of representatives from across the media industries includes Wayne Drew, Chairman of the Ability Media International Awards and Chair of the Creative Board; Katy Eyre, Chief Executive of Jacaranda Productions; Charles Beddow, Creator of Media Powerhouse Group; Tim Dams, Editor in Chief of Televisual and the Hon. Stephen Watson, Anna Home, Producer ad Former Head of Children’s programmes at the BBC and Nicola Murphy, CEO of River Publishing.

Nominations have come from three sources: the Ability Media Creative Board selected from across the media industries; the Ability Media International Advisory group of similar figures based throughout the world; and a range of individuals, advisors and key organisations with an in-depth knowledge of the Arts’ world.

The AMIs have been designed to promote the vision, objectives, and mission of Leonard Cheshire Disability.

For more information on Ability Media please visit www.abilitymedia.org


Leonard Cheshire Disability
Leonard Cheshire Disability supports over 21,000 disabled people in the UK and works in 52 countries. We campaign for change and provide innovative services that give disabled people the opportunity to live life their way

Visit www.LCDisability.org

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