JRRT is proud to sponsor the David & Goliath Award at the SMK Awards, which celebrates individuals or small campaign groups that take on much bigger organisations and challenge vested power.
Our Award sponsorship is made in memory of our friend and former Director, Lord David Shutt.
And the 2022 winner has now been announced at a hybrid virtual/real life ceremony in London…
Congratulations to the Coventry Youth Activists (CYA)
The CYA’s #FacebookHasNoStandards campaign wants to change the way disability hate and ableism is handled by social media platforms.
There was a 52% increase in online disability hate crime online in 2021, yet attempts to report posts were usually met with the same response – that they did not breach Facebook’s Community Standards. CYA’s view was that, if Facebook had any standards, they would not allow hateful, ableist posts to remain on their platform.
CYA want Facebook to make the platform safer for disabled people. They have asked Facebook to remove ableist comments and posts, to highlight and ‘box-over’ reported posts and comments whilst they are investigated, and to invite a CYA team member to join the Facebook oversight board.
In making the award, SMK said: “The difference the campaign has had on the young people in the group has been huge. Young people with anxiety who would often find social situations overwhelming stood outside Facebook HQ sharing their own story. Young people with learning disabilities often excluded by society ran online meetings with people in positions of power to hold them to account. We think the campaign is extraordinary for its ambition, impact and empowering energy.”
Visit www.smk.org.uk/awards for more details …
You can watch the full 2022 Award ceremony below