 This Wednesday afternoon, and if you have a young person with learning difficulties or a disability, then you'll know that it can be really tough getting them a start for them to get work after they finish education. There's a lot of places that shy away from taking on anyone with a disability. In some places it just doesn't suit, which is fine. In some places they don't think that it might suit, or they don't think that it would work, in reality it could. And in some other places, well, they're just not interested in trying to make it work. But the inaugural Disability Employer Equality Awards, and this is for employers who do make it work. And there's going to be an awards night, and this is great to see because the awards ceremony is happening this month. In fact, at the Central Hotel in Donegal Town. It's the Bluestack Foundation, Donegal Local Development Company, the LDC, and the Donegal Children and Young People's Service Committee that are coming together to recognise and celebrate businesses that are championing inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. And from the committee I'm joined by the coordinator, Ann Timoney-Mehan in studio. And thanks for coming in. Great idea, these awards. It's important that businesses and employers be recognised when they go the extra distance, if you like. It is indeed. And first of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell people about this award. This award is one part of a larger project on disability equality that we are running for the next couple of years in Donegal. It's funded by Healthy Ireland, so we're very grateful for that. But we've been working around supporting the agencies in the disability sector to work with young people for a number of years. And it's been an ongoing priority for Donegal Children and Young People's Services Committee. That's a bit of a mouthful, so we call it Donegal Sipsy. It's easier to deal with. So it's an ongoing priority because it's something we're always afraid that supports through the disability sector will slide off the radar. There's so much happening, so much going on, so it is one of our priorities to keep it front and centre. So this event is about acknowledging and encouraging businesses to make that extra effort to engage with young people who have a disability. They have a lot to offer. And to engage with the agencies that are acting on their behalf. Exactly, exactly. So it's also about raising profile. I think what happens sometimes is that we want to be helpful, we want to be supportive, but sometimes we're afraid that we'll use the wrong terminology or we'll say the wrong thing or we might offend someone. And if we feel uncomfortable, we then do nothing. And what we're saying is we need to become much more comfortable around disability, like any other difference. I need NASA's, you know, someone else needs hearing support. We're all human, we all have stuff to offer. And this is about really trying to make it easier for businesses to look at what can they do? What can they do that is both beneficial to their business, that is enriching for their workforce and also ensures that a young person with a disability gets the opportunity that their peer group do. So it's all about that equality piece. Yes, about getting that opportunity. I mean, it's hard for many people to get work, but can you imagine for those with a disability what they're up against, but just to give them a chance to give them an opportunity. And it's amazing what they can achieve. So our awards right now, it looks at two categories. We know in Donegal we have some businesses who are absolutely shining stars in the work and the inclusive way they work with their workforce. So we have an award for the businesses actively employing people with disabilities. So this category really applauds businesses that have already demonstrated a long-term and steadfast commitment to integrating people with a disability into their workforce. And also because they foster an environment where that diversity is both celebrated and valued. So we're enriched by our difference is what we're saying. So that's one category. We also know that a lot of businesses are very early on their journey in terms of embracing that disability and they're learning how do we go about it and need support to do so. So this award looks at businesses who provide work experience to those with disabilities. So you may have a small business that can't take on anyone new for a lot of reasons, but maybe they can offer work experience. They're willing to do that? Yes, and that is really important because we have to recognize the significance and the importance of direct hands-on experiences in the workplace to see what it feels like to be in a workforce, to have colleagues. So this category acknowledges businesses that offer work experience opportunities, even if they're short-term to individuals with a disability. And because that contributes not only to their personal growth as an individual, but also to their professional development. And it means that if you have a young person who is doing a training course, maybe through the ETB, Adult Education, maybe through the Progressive Training Program run by the Blue Stack Foundation in Donegal, that if they're doing that training, they're also getting an opportunity to see themselves in the workplace. Even if initially it's just a few weeks or a few months to try it out and get that experience and be part of the workforce. A first step. And all too often young people can just then fall down between the cracks because they've done the training courses or they've completed their education and then there's so few opportunities out there for them that they then get stuck on a rut or they lose interest in going into the workforce and that's a shame. That's very difficult. We have on the night, and I'm glad you've gone down that route, because we have on the night definitely one guest speaker, possibly two, who are young people who have gone down this route, who have a disability, who were doing well in school, did some training and then were finding it difficult to make that step. One of them is a young man who's agreed to tell his story at this event on the 19th of October. His name is Jack Campbell. You probably know him because his big break came when the business across the road gave him a chance. And that's the way he put it. So the Kellys' Mike and Top Centre. And this is what Jack told me a number of years ago when we launched the first disability directory of services. He said that he had, he got good grades, he had applied for jobs all over the place, he got loads of interviews, but when he did the interview he never heard anything again, because people obviously were then aware of his disability and thought, oh goodness, how's that going to work? But he said to me it was Martin who gave him a chance. And from then he did supervisory management. I know he was a supervisor in the Centre for a period. He has now completed his degree. He is now moving on in his life. Brilliant. Because a local business thought, well we'll give it a go. Yeah, yeah. You know, for all of this. Give him a chance. Give someone a chance. That's all young people like anybody else are looking for. It's just a chance. And he talks very passionately about the importance of that chance and what that local business did for him. So he is our guest speaker on the night which I'm delighted about. How we have found these businesses I suppose, we asked the public to nominate businesses in their area. So anyone in their area if they noticed a business that was active in any way around. And can people still nominate? It's closed for this year, but next year. Next year. Hopefully. So we asked the public to nominate businesses and we have 30 nominations across those two categories. And we also have an independent working group who are the adjudicators. So we have sent out some questions to each of those nominated businesses, just five short questions. And that's about us getting a wee bit more information on their business profile and what this has been like for them. And we will supply all that information to our adjudicators. And that's how we will pick the award. So it's completely transparent and everything. I think the biggest thing is to be nominated first of all. So to ensure that all the nominated businesses are applauded and feel embraced and celebrated, we also will have a window sticker for each nominated business. So that they can let their clean tell. They can display it on their window and people go, OK, that is an equality conscious business. I like that. And that makes a difference to your business profile. So all of those nominated will receive that. And we hope this will be an annual event. This is the inaugural event on the 19th in the Central Hotel. And we're very fortunate in that we know the event will go with a swing because Noel Cunningham, who is a patron of the Blue Stack Foundation, has agreed to emcee on the night. No better man. He'll make it fly. So that is what we're planning. And you're also going to launch a booklet that you mentioned off air on the night. We have three items to launch on the night. This is part of a wider disability equality project that is part of the Economic Well-being section of Donegal Sipsy. And the first thing we want to do is launch the updated edition of the Directory of Disability Services for Donegal. We launched this originally in 2018. This was from 2019. COVID sort of prevented a lot of work happening. So now we will have a new version. They will be available from Donegal Sipsy and from the Blue Stack Foundation. It'll also be on both websites free to download. So it's there, but we will have hard copies available either in the Blue Stack or Sipsy. I'll give you the web address in a minute. The other thing we want to launch is in past years, Sipsy brought in trainers from Dublin. We used to work with a wonderful organization called the Disability Equality Specialist Support Agency in Dublin. They would come in to do disability awareness training for us in County Donegal. We've moved from there and we are now able to celebrate the expertise that we have built up in the county. So the Blue Stack Foundation, fantastic organization, very passionate about the work they do. They have developed disability equality training. And this is our flyer. So we will launch this training on the 19th as well. We're training the trainers. Well, it's more for any organization, any club, any business that wants to have their members learn more about how we can be more equitable in the way we do things. So it's everything from, it's an interactive workshop. First of all, it's not very text heavy, very in-person. It's about improving our communication skills with people who have a disability and how we make small but very meaningful changes in how we do things. Now, there is a fee attached to that. It can be a half day training or a full day. And that fee goes straight back into the social enterprise part of the Blue Stack Foundation. So it's going back to support young people with a disability. And the third one we have, this is very new. This is a resource for young people with a disability who are 16 plus. This is developed by Sipsate. We've been working on it all summer. I like that word on the cover, pathways. Pathways, progressive pathways information. How do we move on from here? And there's lots of ways of doing it. And this is for young people, 16 plus, and their families, obviously, who have a physical, sensory, developmental or psychological disability. And all the agencies that have something to offer from the HSC, the ETB, community and volunteers, all our disability sector. There's lots of small and large opportunities. That's all in there. So we will launch that on the night as well. And finally, Annie mentioned the website. You're going to give me some addresses. There's two I want to give you. The first one is the Sipsy website. And that is www.cypsc.ie. Forward slash Donegal. So that's a national website. Go to the Donegal page. And under local resources, you find all the resources we develop. Anything that has to do with not just disability, but anything that is to support children and young people from 0 up to 25 across mental health, sports, everything we've got. The other one is the Blue Stack Foundation. And the Blue Stack Foundation is www.bluestackfoundation.com. So all the resources we've mentioned today will be available from both. Inherit copy are also free to download. OK, well, all good, all valuable information and all ahead of what hopefully will be very successful. And it's important that it's the night of recognition and inspiration on the 19th in the Central Hotel in Donegal Town. And just before you go on, Coller says that lady's delivery is excellent. And she is 100% right about what she's saying. I stopped what I was doing just to listen to her. There you are. Oh, well, whoever that was, thank you very, very much. Praise be to God. Thank you.