TORONTO, Nov. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today the winners of its first annual AMI scholarship program. The program, which launched in May of this year, was open to Canadian students planning to enroll or continuing to be enrolled in a diploma or degree program at a Canadian post-secondary school in the 2012/2013 academic term.
To be considered for this scholarship, each student was required to submit a 500-word mandatory essay addressing how organizations can improve their accessibility and why this would be important for society. Two scholarships valued at $5,000 each were awarded, one of which was reserved for a student with a permanent disability.
"We were overwhelmed by the results of our first AMI scholarship program," explained Peter Burke, AMI Vice-President of Marketing and Communications. "In our first year, we received 511 submissions, over half of which were from students with a permanent disability. Not only was the program a tremendous opportunity for us to give back to the community and reach our core audience, but we've also managed to increase awareness of the value of media accessibility and encourage students to think more critically about building an inclusive society."
The winners of the 2012 AMI scholarship program are Charmaine Co of Richmond, BC and Jan Boomhouwer of L'Amable, Ontario. Charmaine, blind since birth, is working towards her Master's degree in psychology at the University of British Columbia. Jan is in the Honours Women and Gender Studies and Sociology program at Wilfred Laurier University.
"We couldn't be more pleased with our winners," continued Peter. "Both of our recipients are such deserving, conscientious and driven individuals. We wish them the very best in their future endeavours."
The 2013 AMI Scholarship program will launch April 2, 2013 and potential applicants are encouraged to visit www.ami.ca at that time for complete details.
For further information on AMI and its programs and initiatives, please visit www.ami.ca.
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About Accessible Media Inc.
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is a not-for-profit multimedia organization operating two broadcast services, AMI-tv, AMI-audio, and a web site, AMI.ca. AMI serves more than five million Canadians who are blind or with low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, learning disabled, mobility or print restricted, or learning English as a second language by making print, broadcast and online media accessible.
Image with caption: "Charmaine Co, AMI Scholarship Winner (CNW Group/Accessible Media Inc. (AMI))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121106_C5239_PHOTO_EN_20215.jpg
Image with caption: "Jan Boomhouwer, AMI Scholarship Winner (CNW Group/Accessible Media Inc. (AMI))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121106_C5239_PHOTO_EN_20216.jpg
SOURCE: Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)
Please contact:
Janis Davidson Pressick, Communications Manager
800-567-6755 ext. 0971, [email protected]
Andrea Ramos, Communications Coordinator
800-567-6755 ext. 0977, [email protected]
AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for...
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