This week WECIL have learned that we have been shortlisted for two prestigious awards – having closed 2023 with a big win at the Locality Awards!
Locally, we have been shortlisted for a Bristol Social Impact Award. Formerly known as the Voscurs, the Bristol Social Impact Awards bring together organisations across all sectors that strive to make Bristol a great place to live, work, or volunteer. The awards showcase social purpose organisations, volunteers, and community leaders across twelve categories, who are nominated by the public. Nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges, comprised of representatives of community organisations and businesses across the city. The shortlists have now been finalised and WECIL have been selected as one of three organisations who stand to win the Equity and Diversity Award – which will recognise an organisation in the VCSE sector that has embedded equitable approaches throughout its strategy and delivery to achieve better diversity.
WECIL have been nominated in celebration of the work of WAIT (WECIL Access and Inclusion Team), a group of Disabled people who volunteer their time to improve the quality of life, inclusion and access for all people in Bristol. WAIT work with building owners, organisations, developers and service providers within the private and public sector to improve and promote access and inclusion for all within the built environment, as part of WECIL’s social enterprise consultancy business Disability.Inc.. You can hear from the members of WAIT in this video.
What’s more… the Bristol Play & Youth Alliance has also been shortlisted for a Bristol Impact Award in the Partnership Award category! This award recognises excellence in partnership working and celebrates collaborative leadership from social purpose organisations in the sector and WECIL are very proud of our role within this partnership of organisations improving lives of young people across the City.
The winners of the Bristol Social Impact Awards will be announced at a celebration evening hosted by Voscur on Thursday 29th February 2024 at South Bristol Skills Academy.
Nationally, WECIL have been shortlisted for an Annual Playwork Award. These awards set out to celebrate all that is good about the playwork sector and praise the work of organisations and individuals who have made a noticeable contribution and difference to the lives of those they work with. We are delighted that WECIL’s Children and Young People’s department have been recognised for the great playwork provided to Disabled children across Bristol and B&NES as part of our Short Breaks services, and for supporting other organisations to fully include Disabled children.
WECIL support Disabled children and young people from birth through to adulthood. All of our services are designed to ensure Disabled children can build and develop the skills, relationships, friendships and confidence needed to live the life they chose. Play is an important part of all children’s development. Play contributes to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and young people as well as serving a crucial evolutionary purpose. There are huge benefits and opportunities for children to engage and explore when playing – however free play has been remarkably reduced for some children. This can be a result of things such as hurried lifestyles and changes in family structure, and for Disabled children it can result from a lack of accessible and inclusive provision.
WECIL are one of three organisations shortlisted for the Altogether Different Award after being nominated for the work we are doing across Bristol to support more Play organisations to develop better inclusive practice to enable Disabled children to play in mainstream settings with their non-disabled peers, within our role as part of the Bristol Play & Youth Alliance.
The shortlisting recognises WECIL’s flexibility and openness to others – specifically around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion – and how we are supporting the children and youth sector across the City to make the celebratory and transformative potential of playwork theory and practice real.
The winners will be announced on Tuesday evening 5th March 2024 at the Annual Playwork Awards dinner and ceremony at the National Playwork Conference in Eastbourne.
