The Australian Government has partnered with the ABC to showcase the work of up-and-coming content makers with disabilities and increase employment opportunities.
Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston said the Government has committed $60,000 to provide an opportunity for regional Australians with a disability to undertake a scholarship with the ABC.
“Getting a job and having a job is an absolute game-changer in anybody’s life and that shouldn’t be any different for somebody who has a disability,” Minister Ruston said.
“By supporting these content makers to distribute their work and have their voices heard it will hopefully inspire other artists with disability to follow their dreams and break down barriers to employment.
“We are proud to reveal this year’s scholarship winners as writer and podcaster Fiona Murphy from Tamworth, NSW, and actor and storyteller, Angus Thompson, from Bathurst, NSW, who starred in the ABC iview Fresh Blood series based on his life called The Angus Project.
“I want to congratulate all of the applicants who sought to be part of the program this year, which has seen the pitching of dozens of high-quality and creative ideas from the important voices of people with disability across Australia.”
ABC Regional and Local Director Judith Whelan has applauded the support for the scholarship from the Government.
“Now in its third year, this scholarship has been instrumental in furthering the careers and aspirations of very talented content makers with disability, allowing them to showcase their skills and experience through a range of avenues,” Ms Whelan said.
Fiona’s content idea centres on deaf identity and culture and seeks to collect stories about what it is like to be deaf or hard-of-hearing in Australia.
Angus will seek to produce a series of short online videos, which will take a comedic look at how he tries and struggles to use everyday items that aren’t designed for people with disability.
“These two scholarship winners will work with various ABC teams over three months, to develop their skills, produce content and gain valuable employment experience,” Ms Whelan said.
Fiona and Angus will be joined by Emma Myers, who was initially shortlisted for the 2019 scholarship and accepted it when the original recipient withdrew. She was meant to complete it in the first half of this year but due to COVID-19 is now starting at a similar time as the 2020 winners.
Applications for 2021 will open later in the year and people with disability, living in rural and regional Australia with innovative content ideas are encouraged to apply.
