Looking back on the Disability Smart Awards 2024 ceremony

Rebecca Elliott, Disability Business Partner at Business Disability Forum, looks back on the Disability Smart Awards Ceremony 2024, in partnership with Bloomberg, on 30 April.

Woman with long black hair and glasses who uses a wheelchair, attending an event
Rebecca at the Disability Smart Awards 2024 ceremony.

Stories connect people, and people connect with stories.

Now in its tenth year, the Disability Smart Awards are all about celebrating the stories of those incredible individuals and organisations who spend their days (and sometimes their nights) improving the lives of disabled people.

Last year was my first ever attendance at an awards ceremony and I had only just started working at Business Disability Forum.

I vividly recall watching the Business Partnership team cheering on their members, silently hoping that next year I might clap for members I worked alongside!

Finally, on the evening of Tuesday 30 April, I sat in the audience, clapping and cheering as many of the winners’ stories were shared.

Some highlights included the Thrive project from Whitbread, which provides supported internships (and jobs) to young adults with learning disabilities. Their smiles and success stories show the value of making the effort to start recruiting inclusively.

Blonde woman speaking into a microphone on stage at an event. A man in a suit who uses a wheelchair looks on with a smile on his face. The Whitbread logo is projected onto a screen behind them, above a gold box that says 'winner'.
Janet Tidmarsh, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Whitbread, receives the 2024 Disability Smart Recruitment Award from Steve Ingham, our Chair of Trustees.

Reckitt shared a powerful video from Vanish. ‘Me, My Autism and I’ was created by Havas London, with support from Ambitious about Autism. The short film powerfully depicts the home life of an autistic young woman, and educates the audience about the importance of familiar clothing for consistent sensory regulation to provide comfort.

Three women pose with an award. The woman in the middle uses a stick. Behind the group is a banner with the Disability Smart Awards 2024 and Bloomberg logos.
Carrie Adams, Nicola Gray and Elise Cockley of Reckitt pose with their Disability Smart Communication Campaign Award trophy.

The beautiful models from the Primark adaptive clothing range explained the impact of simply adding lace to adaptive lingerie and how this could reinforce the confidence of a disabled woman to feel comfortable in her body (and her underwear).

Four people pose on stage at an event. The person furthest left is of short stature. The person to their right is holding a trophy. The Primark logo is projected onto a screen behind the group, with the text 'Disability Smart Product Design Award'.
Charlie Magadah-Williams and Martina Bunting of Primark (centre) receive the Disability Smart Inclusive Product Design Award from ceremony hosts Simon Minty (far left) and Diane Lightfoot (far right).

After the awards and photo ops, we had conversations and canapes, and made introductions. With many more connections on the horizon, it will be fascinating to see what ideas and innovations develop throughout 2024.

Next year, it might be your story shared up on that big screen. It might be you taking home one of those shiny coveted BDF awards, to share with disabled colleagues you work alongside, all day every day.

You have to be in it to win it – and you can’t win anything if you don’t just start your inclusion journey. So get your skates on and become the hero of your own disability smart story next year!  

Nominations for the Disability Smart Awards 2025 will open in December, so you still have plenty of time. We don’t have specific dates yet, but you can stay follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop.

Read more about this year’s winners.

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