The 2021 People’s Choice Accessible Business Awards are now complete.
Read on to discover the successful finalists, winners and the Supreme winner!
Accessibility, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of a thriving society, and at the heart of a thriving business.
Welcome to the 2021 People’s Choice Accessible Business Awards, presented by the Access Alliance and sponsored by Cookie Time Charitable Trust. These awards recognise businesses and organisations that go the extra mile to enable everyone to fully participate in society. These are Kiwi businesses that provide opportunities to learn, to get a job, to access goods, services, events and facilities, and to take part in community and social life.
These unique awards are also an opportunity to showcase businesses that are accessible in challenging times. Making the most of the domestic market makes more sense than ever. The NZ Institute of Economic Research estimates 1 million New Zealanders have access needs, yet many companies may be missing out on this significant income potential. International experience suggests businesses who embrace accessibility can see a 20% uplift in sales.
There are eight categories for nomination reflecting ‘areas of life’ that all New Zealanders have the right to fully participate in, including education, social inclusion and leisure, employment, tourism and hospitality, digital spaces and the media. These categories also reflect areas of life that the future Accessible Aotearoa Act will cover. Nominated businesses will then be put to the vote to select three finalists per category. Overall category winners will also be up for the Supreme Award.
Easy Read translation (PDF 1,566KB)
People’s Choice Nominations: 15 February – 6 June
Every fortnight we will be calling for nominations in the following areas of life:
| Education | 15 February – 1 March |
| Built Environment including Public Transport | 1 March – 15 March |
| Social Inclusion & Leisure | 15 March – 29 March |
| Employment | 29 March – 12 April |
| Goods & Services | 12 April – 26 April |
| Tourism & Hospitality | 26 April – 10 May |
| Digital Spaces | 10 May – 24 May |
| Media | 24 May – 7 June |
People’s Choice Winners Voting: 7 June – 13 June
During the week 7 – 13 June, you can vote for one of the three finalists in each 'area of life' category:
- Education
- Built Environment including Public Transport
- Social Inclusion & Leisure
- Employment
- Goods & Services
- Tourism & Hospitality
- Digital Spaces
- Media
The finalists with the most votes in each of the eight 'area of life' categories will become the People’s Choice Accessible Business Award winners for their respective 'area of life' category.
The 2021 People’s Choice Accessible Business Awards Ceremony – 6:00pm, Tuesday 15 June 2021
Proudly presented by the Access Alliance in association with the Cookie Time Charitable Trust
The 2021 People’s Choice Accessible Business Awards winners will be recognised in a 90-minute hybrid live/virtual event. The event will showcase nominees and winners in a lively multimedia presentation.
The ceremony will include people with access needs, as well as their whānau, supporters and allies. Special guests will be invited to attend.
The event will include real-time online voting to decide the People’s Choice Accessible Business Supreme Award winner for 2021.
And the SUPREME winner, as decided by popular vote on the night of the 2021 Awards, is ... Festival One Ltd - Soul Lounge!!
'Area of Life' Category Details
Education:
We want parents, students, family and friends to nominate pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, and tertiary education providers who are making education experiences accessible. We are looking for educators whose buildings follow universal design principles, whose curricula and teaching methods are designed for all learners, and who provide individual accommodations to ensure all students can access quality education to achieve their full potential.
Congratulations to our Education finalists:
And the EDUCATION winner is ... St Mary’s Catholic School Rotorua!
Built Environment including Public Transport:
Getting around and getting into places can present challenges for New Zealanders with access needs, including seniors and parents with young children. We are calling for positive examples of accessible public transport systems, buildings and public spaces that makes it easy for people to access public buildings, spaces and transport.
Congratulations to our Built Environment including Public Transport finalists:
And the BUILT ENVIRONMENT including PUBLIC TRANSPORT winner is ... Driving Miss Daisy Howick and Bucklands Beach!
Social Inclusion & Leisure:
Everyone should be able to join in! We are calling for nominations of organisations that go the extra mile to enable access to sports and cultural activities, public events, festivals, theatre, art galleries, museums, recreation and hobby groups, clubs and community classes for people with access needs. We want to showcase organisations who provide accessible information, and accommodate individual needs.
Congratulations to our Social Inclusion & Leisure finalists:
And the SOCIAL INCLUSION & LEISURE winner is ... Festival One Ltd - Soul Lounge!
Employment:
We’re calling for employees with access needs to nominate their accessible workplaces and employers who are practically demonstrating how diversity, inclusion and accessibility benefits their workforce and their bottom line.
Congratulations to our Employment finalists:
And the EMPLOYMENT winner is ... The Cookie Project!
Goods & Services:
We should all be able to get the goods and services we need on a daily basis. We are calling for consumers to nominate businesses who provide a simple and easy retail experience, either online, in person, or over the phone. These businesses are fully aware of the customers with access needs, and do what it takes to deliver welcoming and positive customer service, like providing training on accessible customer service, and providing information and services in alternative formats.
Congratulations to our Goods & Services finalists:
And the GOODS & SERVICES winner is ... NextStep New Zealand!
Tourism & Hospitality:
We’re calling for travelers and explorers with access needs to nominate tourism and hospitality operators who are delivering accessible experiences. We are looking for you to nominate accommodation providers, tourist attractions, hospitality services, and venues that are demonstrating accessibility.
Congratulations to our Tourism & Hospitality finalists:
And the TOURISM & HOSPITALTY winner is ... Te Papa!
Digital Spaces:
Accessibility is just as important when it comes to information and communications, including technology and digital systems. Accessible digital spaces are especially important for people with a communication or print disability. Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) will be celebrated on Friday 21 May 2021. GAAD aims to increase awareness and commitment to ensure that people with access needs are able to use digital products, content and services in the same way as everyone else. Everyone should have a first-rate experience on the internet. We are calling for nominations of businesses and organisations who have created accessible digital spaces and experiences for all.
Congratulations to our Digital Spaces finalists:
And the DIGITAL SPACES winner is ... Ako Aotearoa!
Media:
We are calling for people with access needs to nominate media outlets, networks and individual reporters who provide accessible media coverage and who demonstrate an understanding of the everyday barriers and challenges that people with access needs face. We need our media to be inclusive so that we have equitable access to information about the issues that affect us. We also need New Zealanders with access needs to be accurately and fairly represented in the media through respectful, non-discriminatory language.
Congratulations to our Media finalists:
And the MEDIA winner is ... Able!
The Rules
Nominations
You can nominate as many organisations in each 'area of life' category as you want. You can nominate businesses and organisations in more than one 'area of life' category.
'Area of Life' Category Voting
You can nominate as many businesses and organisations in each ‘area of life’ category as you want.
You can also nominate businesses and organisations in more than one ‘area of life’ category.
Finalist Voting Week 7 – 13 June
During the week 7 – 13 June, you can vote for one of the three finalists in each 'area of life' category:
- Education
- Built Environment including Public Transport
- Social Inclusion & Leisure
- Employment
- Goods & Services
- Tourism & Hospitality
- Digital Spaces
- Media
The finalists with the most votes in each of the eight 'area of life' categories will become the People’s Choice Accessible Business Award winners for their respective 'area of life' category.
People’s Choice Accessible Business Supreme Award
Voting for the 2021 People’s Choice Accessible Business Supreme Award will take place online during the awards presentation, Tuesday 15 June, and be awarded to one of the ‘area of life’ category winners. To cast a vote you must register to attend and be online during the virtual awards ceremony.
And the SUPREME winner, as decided by popular vote on the night of the 2021 Awards, is ... Festival One Ltd - Soul Lounge!!
For enquiries or if you have any problems submitting a nomination or voting please contact: Taryn Banks
Email: [email protected]
Phone/Text: 0220162571
NZSL calls or online meetings with auto captioning can be arranged
Easy Read translation (PDF 1,566KB)
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