International Day for People with Disabilites

Happy International Day for People with Disabilities!  This day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues, the rights of persons with disabilities and benefits of integration in every aspect of the political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities.

Here at Kanchi, we are celebrating by recounting the success thus far of the O2 Ability Awards 2010.  This year, 105 eligible organisations registered to participate in the O2 Ability Awards 2010.  Of these registered organisations, 85 submitted final detailed application forms.  A record breaking 70% of these were new organisations: organisations which had not been deemed an “Ability Company” by Kanchi’s O2 Ability Awards before. Organisations from across 25 different industry sectors and 21 Counties applied.

It should be noted the standard of applications was incredibly high this year.  Therefore, 42 organisations will receive on-site assessments. This is a testiment to the commitment Irish companies are making to the business case for disability.

Gaby Murphy, Kanchi’s Managing Director said: “It is fitting that we can today announce details of the growing level of interest in the O2 Ability Awards which reflects Ireland’s commitment to the United Nations International Day of Disabilities. The quality and calibre of entries this year is significant in terms of organisations not only embracing disability policies put putting them into action - there is clear evidence of a positive shift in practice when it comes to accommodating both employees and customers with disabilities”.

A full list of companies shortlisted will be released during February 2010.  A televised series documenting a selection of organisations that participate in the O2 Ability Awards will be broadcast on RTÉ in May.

• Posted:03 Dec 2009 at 11:00 am

O2 Ability Awards Closed for Applications

The O2 Ability Awards 2010 are now closed for applications. Disability management consultants and assessors will now review all applications submitted. Thirty organisations will then be shortlisted for on-site assessment. Organisations who have been short listed will be advised of their on-site assessment date by the end of November.  A full list of shortlisted companies will be released come February 2010.

Thank you to our Supporters, to all who contacted the Kanchi Team to nominate companies and to all who have applied for the O2 Ability Awards 2010.

• Posted:09 Nov 2009 at 09:00 am

Look for Kanchi on Facebook and Linkedin

You are now able to find Kanchi on Facebook and Linkedin! Become a Fan to keep up to date with the O2 Ability Awards 2010 and Kanchi News.

• Posted:05 Nov 2009 at 11:00 am

O2 Ability Awards on Newstalk 106-108fm

This past Monday, you may have heard Tina Roche, CEO of Business in the Community, on Newstalk 106-108fm, on the Conor Brophy Business Show.  Keep an ear out tomorrow morning for Kathleen McLoughlin, CEO of the Irish Wheelchair Association, who will also be discussing the O2 Ability Awards and the business news of the day.  Both Tina and Kathleen are Judges on the Final Judging Panel for the O2 Ability Awards 2010.

Kieran McGowan (Chairman of CRH), Gar Holohan (CEO of Aura Holohan Leisure Group), Danuta Gray (CEO of O2) and Caroline Casey (CEO of Kanchi) were also interviewed on Conor Brophy’s show over the past few weeks. Podcasts are available for download on Newstalk’s website.

• Posted:03 Nov 2009 at 10:00 am

Featured on The Aternoon Show

The Afternoon Show, RTÉ’s live flagship daytime programme, featured a segment on The O2 Ability Awards during yesterday’s show. Seonaid Dunne, Kanchi Sounding Board Member and Chiarra O’Ranaigh, of Eye Cinema Galway and a previous winner of an O2 Ability Award, were on hand to chat about why they feel it is important for organisations to think differently and apply for an O2 Ability Award.

Read transcrpts of the interview here.

• Posted:29 Oct 2009 at 09:00 am

PwC Now Assessment Partner for O2 Ability Awards

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is the assessment partner for the O2 Ability Awards 2010. The PwC team will work alongside Kanchi’s disability management consultants in the assessment and verification of organisations shortlisted for the O2 Ability Awards. These shortlisted organisations will receive a free full-day, on-site assessment.

Speaking at the announcement, Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers said: “We are delighted to become the assessment partner for the O2 Ability Awards.  PwC is committed to having a positive impact on the people and communities around us and supporting the O2 Ability Awards is a key way of achieving this.”

Created by the founder of disability organisation, Kanchi and visually impaired social entrepreneur, Caroline Casey, the O2 Ability Awards promote organisations that think and act differently in relation to people with disabilities; who recognise ability and talent over disability; who see the economic and personal potential of employees and customers with disabilities, making products and services available to all.

Since 2005, over 100 businesses and organisations including Superquinn, McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Kerry County Council and Aura Sport & Leisure, have been selected as O2 Ability Award organisations. Awards will be presented across six categories and there will be three overall winners: one each from the private and non-private sectors as well as an award for the Best Small Company. A televised series documenting a selection of organisations that participate in the O2 Ability Awards will be broadcast in May 2010.

• Posted:21 Oct 2009 at 10:00 am

A Birthday for Ben

Special Stories Publishing is an award winning Irish publishing company, producing children’s books which introduce disabilities, social, health and education issues to children, parents and schools.  Each book aims to help children learn the importance of accepting friends and classmates who are different to them.

A Birthday for Ben, part of Series Two in Special Stories, is told through the eyes of Ben, a young boy who is deaf. He is about to celebrate his birthday, but not exactly thrilled about it.  Fearful he will be left out when the music starts playing, his Mum helps him realise all kids are able to have fun on their birthday.

Authored by Kate Gaynor (Photo Left) and beautifully illustrated Karen Quirke (Photo Right), A Birthday for Ben draws from the experience of Irish Deaf Kids Founder and Kanchi Sounding Board Member, Caroline Carswell (Photo Center).

“The idea for the Birthday for Ben book came from my summer camp experiences as a kid. My primary school was deaf-aware, with 4 pupils in different classes at about the same time. However, at summer camp, I had to explain what my hearing-aids were, and why I wore them. This was fine in itself, but a few of the other kids seemed to find the concept of deafness really hard to “get”.” explains Carswell.

”’A Birthday for Ben’ is a very welcome resource for both parents and teachers as it introduces the whole notion of hearing and deafness to young children,” continues Carswell, “By making the book available to primary schools throughout Ireland, IDK and Special Stories hope to highlight the everyday issues that deaf children may encounter on a daily basis in mainstream school”.

Series Two also introduces Autism, Dyslexia, Down Syndrome.

Karen Quirke, the Illustrator behind “A Birthday for Ben”, is also the artist behind Irish Deaf Kid’s 2010 Calendar, now available at most major book stores throughout Ireland.

• Posted:15 Oct 2009 at 03:00 am

Positive Solutions

The Irish Association for Supportive Employment will hold a national conference in Kilkenny this Friday and Saturday.  Entitled “Supportive Employment – Positive Solutions”, this conference offers a great opportunity to network with a wide variety of organisations and interested parties to discuss how to improve employment  and customer service for people with disabilities. Keynote speakers, workshops and a marketplace of information will be available to all attendees.

Kanchi’s Managing Director, Gabrielle Murphy and Sinéad Harding, Project Manager of the O2 Ability Awards 2010 will be in attendance.  Gabrielle Murphy will be presenting on the O2 Ability Awards at IASE’s Awards for Best Practice in Supportive Employment.  The Irish Association for Supportive Employment is an Endorser of the O2 Ability Awards 2010.

• Posted:07 Oct 2009 at 12:00 pm

Ability Awards Website Nominated

The O2 Ability Awards website has been shortlisted for the Irish Web Award’s category “Most Accessible Website”.  This is a true honour and very exciting news.  During the redesign of the the Ability Awards website, all involved made accessibly a priority.  It is a delight to be recognised as we strive to meet the same best practice standards the O2 Ability Awards promote.

The O2 Ability Awards are a Kanchi initiative.  Applications are open now through November 6th, 2009.
Last year, Kanchi’s website was shortlisted for “Most Beautiful Website in Ireland” and won an Irish Web Award for “Most Accessible Website in Ireland”. The Irish Web Awards will take place October 10th, 2009 at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Dublin.  Good luck to all!

• Posted:25 Sep 2009 at 12:00 pm

O2 Ability Awards 2010 Launched Today

An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD today launched the campaign to encourage organisations to enter the O2 Ability Awards – business awards for best practice in the inclusion of people with disabilities as employees and customers. Created by the founder of disability organisation, Kanchi and visually impaired social entrepreneur, Caroline Casey, the O2 Ability Awards promote organisations that think and act differently in relation to people with disabilities.

Since 2005, over 100 businesses and organisations including Superquinn, McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Mayo County Council, Kerry Local Authorities and Aura Sport & Leisure, have been selected as O2 Ability Award organisations.

The O2 Ability Awards are open to organisations of all structures and sizes from the public and private sectors as well as not-for-profit and voluntary organisations. The programme rewards organisations that have put disability policies into action, delivering real and tangible business benefits both internally and externally.

Organisations are encouraged to enter online at www.theabilityawards.com before 6 November 2009. On completion of applications, thirty organisations will be shortlisted and will receive a free on-site assessment audit which will be carried out by independent disability management consultants. Awards will be presented across six categories and there will be three overall winners: one each from the private and non-private sectors as well as an award for the Best Small Company. A televised series documenting a selection of organisations that participate in the O2 Ability Awards will be broadcast in May 2010. The O2 Ability Awards is supported by Telefónica O2 Ireland, FÁS, The Irish Times, Newstalk 106-108fm and RTÉ.

“Embracing diversity has always been at the heart of O2’s business and our involvement with the Ability Awards since its inception has enabled us to learn ways in which we can take this commitment a step further for the benefit of our employees, customers and society as a whole”
-Danuta Gray, CEO of Telefónica O2 Ireland

The success of the O2 Ability Awards in Ireland coupled with the ongoing support of Telefónica will see the Ability Awards launch in Spain during 2010, the first of several countries outside of Ireland where it is envisaged the Awards programme will be established.

• Posted:21 Sep 2009 at 09:00 am