Media Advisory - Winners of 2014 AMI scholarship program announced

TORONTO, Oct. 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today the winners of its 2014 AMI Scholarship program. The program, which launched in 2012, is open to Canadian students planning to enroll or continuing to be enrolled in a diploma or degree program at a Canadian post-secondary school. Two scholarships valued at $5,000 are awarded annually, one of which is reserved for a student with a permanent disability. To be considered for this scholarship, each student is required to submit a 500-word mandatory essay on a topic related to accessibility. This year's topic focused on the importance of making television more accessible and enjoyable for the blind and partially sighted community.

The AMI scholarship program has grown steadily since its inception, and this year received more than 1,600 applications from across the country – a 30 percent increase from 2013.

The winners of the 2014 AMI Scholarship program are Courtney Knight of Burnaby, British Columbia and Judith Oluwatosin Jubril of Brampton, Ontario. Courtney, who is legally blind and a five time Paralympian, is studying for her Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation at Douglas College, while Judith is currently completing her Masters in Disaster and Emergency Management at York University in Toronto.  

"We launched the scholarship program to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Canadians who experience issues accessing media on a daily basis," explains Peter Burke, Vice-President of Marketing and Communications for AMI. "Our winners truly took the time to consider the issues at hand and produced thought-provoking, intelligent essays. Some of the ideas they put forth could easily be implemented and have a very positive impact on the industry. Both recipients are highly deserving of this award and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours."

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-audio and AMI-tv, and a website (AMI.ca). A third broadcast service, AMI-télé, will launch in December 2014. Serving more than five million Canadians who are blind, partially sighted, deaf, hard of hearing, mobility or print restricted, AMI's mission is to make accessible media for all Canadians.

SOURCE: Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)

Janis Davidson Pressick, Communications Manager, 800-567-6755 ext. 0971, [email protected]; Taylor Turner, Communications Coordinator, 800-567-6755 ext. 0977, [email protected]?