Jodi Awards 2010 for accessible cultural websites and digital media

Nominations are now being sought for the Jodi Awards 2010 from museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites from the UK and overseas which use digital technology to widen access to information, collections, learning and creativity for disabled people.

First given in 2003, European Year of Disabled People, the Jodi Awards celebrate practice that inspires locally, nationally or internationally. The Jodi Mattes Trust welcome nominations from all kinds of projects, small and big, low-tech and hi-tech and for small and large audiences. These may be as varied as computer literacy courses in a library, accessible touch screens in a museum or online archival materials accessible to disabled researchers. What counts is the value of the project and the quality of engagement with disabled people.

Nominated projects, services and facilities pass before an experienced panel of judges. Disabled users will test entries, and websites submitted for an Award will also be subject to automated testing.

For the first time, the UK Jodi Awards will be presented outside London at a high profile event in Edinburgh in December, to coincide with a National Archives of Scotland seminar on the problems and possibilities of online historical research by people with disabilities. Museums Galleries Scotland, the Scottish Libraries and Information Council and Digital Access Scotland will take part in the collaborative event. The deadline for Award nominations is Friday 13 September.

The International Jodi Award for Overseas (non-UK) countries is travelling across the Channel to Belgium this year. The award will be given in Brussels as part of the European Congress on E Inclusion (ECEI10), ‘Delivering a Digital Europe in Public Libraries´, an official EU Belgian Presidency event hosted by the Flemish Community and Civic Agenda. The International Award is for ‘best website´ and the deadline for nominations is Monday 9 August.

The European Congress on E Inclusion is being organised within the framework of the European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and will seek to explore the future roles that public libraries have in supporting European policy agendas, looking at e-inclusion; enterprise; anti-poverty; social inclusion; learning; accessible cultural content; creativity; personal development through life; citizenship and accessible information society services.

Matthew Cock, Jodi Mattes Trust Chair and Head of Web at the British Museum:

"Holding the Awards Ceremony in the heart of Brussels as part of this influential Congress will put the International Jodi Award firmly on the European map. We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the European Union and the Flemish Community and its partners to help spark excitement, enthusiasm and initiative around web accessibility and e-inclusion and to learn from new international best practice."

This year, the Jodi Mattes Trust is stepping up activity to promote awareness of the power of technology to provide a shared experience for disabled people, in the UK and overseas. The Trust is presenting at this year´s online TIE (Technology in Education) conference of the American Association of Museums in June. From 22-24 September, the Trust will be running ‘Digital Inclusion for Disabled People´ seminars in partnership with CyMAL (Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales) and the Human-Computer Interaction Research Group of the University of York.

For more information and a nomination form: www.jodiawards.org.uk