Scope Awards 2026: Nominate Your Champions Now!

Charity Scope, along with actor Adam Pearson, are encouraging the public to nominate their disability equality heroes for the annual Scope Awards. Nominations are now officially open.

Each year, Scope invites nominations for individuals – friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, or even celebrities – who deserve recognition for their contributions to disability equality.

The awards ceremony, scheduled for next year, aims to celebrate the achievements of the disabled community and raise awareness of the challenges faced by disabled people daily.

Scope Awards Categories

This year’s awards feature nine categories:

• Media Moment: Recognising impactful media coverage that has positively shifted perceptions of disability.
• Celebrity Role Model: Honoring a public figure who uses their platform to champion disability equality.
• Social Media Influencer: Acknowledging an influencer who uses their online presence to advocate for disability rights.
• Purple Pioneer: Celebrating individuals who raise disability awareness and challenge societal attitudes.
• Community Group: Highlighting community organisations that foster meaningful change at the local level.
• Local Service: Recognising local businesses or social enterprises that make a significant difference in the lives of disabled people.
• Colleague Network: Applauding employee resource groups that promote workplace inclusivity for disabled staff.
• Workplace Champion: Celebrating individuals who champion disability inclusion and dismantle barriers in the workplace.
• Customer Inclusion: Acknowledging organisations that remove accessibility barriers for disabled customers.

Disability Pride Month and the Importance of Recognition

The call for nominations coincides with Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate disability identity and community. Recent research indicates that only a small percentage of the population is familiar with this awareness month.

Disabled personalities have shared their thoughts on Disability Pride Month and encouraged others to nominate themselves or their champions for a Scope Award.

Concerns About Benefit Cuts

This initiative comes amidst concerns about the future for disabled people, following government announcements of substantial welfare benefit cuts. These cuts are projected to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable members of society. Recent parliamentary debates have highlighted the controversy surrounding these welfare reforms.

Voices of Support

Adam Pearson, actor and disability advocate, along with presenter Shani Dhanda and members of the cast from the BBC programme The Assembly, have praised the Scope Awards for providing an important platform for disability awareness throughout July. They also emphasised the need for disability pride and inclusion to extend beyond a single month.

Pearson, who hosted last year’s Scope Awards, stated that Disability Pride Month is a positive opportunity to spotlight disability. He questioned why this focus is limited to just one month, advocating for year-round celebration and acceptance. He emphasised the importance of showing the world who you are, unashamedly and unapologetically.

What is Disability Pride Month?

Disability Pride Month originated in Boston, USA, in 1990, coinciding with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It has since evolved into a global movement. Scope has been a supporter of Disability Pride Month in the UK.

It serves as a crucial time for disabled people to connect, share experiences, and initiate important conversations. It’s a celebration of the creativity, resilience, and accomplishments of disabled individuals. It is open to anyone who identifies as disabled or wishes to demonstrate their support for disabled communities. Disability Pride Month is a time for embracing disability identity positively and challenging the negative stereotypes that often hold disabled people back.

Disability Pride Flag

The disability pride flag is a powerful symbol representing the diverse experiences within the disabled community. Its colours and design hold significant meaning:

• Red: Represents physical impairments and conditions.
• Gold: Represents neurodiversity.
• White: Represents non-visible and undiagnosed impairments and conditions.
• Blue: Represents emotional and psychiatric conditions, including mental health, anxiety, and depression.
• Green: Represents hearing impaired, vision impaired, audio processing, and all other sensory impairments and conditions.
• Charcoal: The charcoal background represents individuals who have experienced ableism and stands as a protest against it.

Importance of Disability Pride

Disability Pride is essential because disabled people continue to face unfair treatment and harmful stereotypes. A significant majority of disabled individuals report experiencing negative attitudes. Disability Pride helps to shift the narrative, providing a platform to speak out, embrace identity, and drive change.

Call to Action

James Taylor, Director of Strategy, Impact and Social Change at Scope, emphasised that Disability Pride Month is a celebration of the creativity, resilience, and achievements of disabled people. He also stressed the importance of ongoing conversations and challenging negative attitudes. He urged people to nominate their disability equality champions for the Scope Awards, highlighting the awards’ role in recognising those who strive for equality year-round.

For details about the awards and nomination process, visit scope.org.uk.