Open Minds have opened nominations for the annual Queensland Mental Health Week Achievement Awards, with $5,000 available in prize money. The Awards, now in their 25th year, recognise and celebrate the achievements of those working to reduce stigma and empower those living with mental illnesses.
There are 11 Award categories to be entered, and the overarching winner, as chosen by the judges, will receive $4,000 in prize money.
There is also an additional $500 prize offered to the winner of the Jude Bugeja Peer Experience Award, donated by the family of the late Jude Bugeja, whom the award is named after.
The Jeff Cheverton Individual Award category also has an added incentive to the winner, with a prize of $500 presented by Sponsor QLD Alliance for Mental Health.
This year, Open Minds has added a new category to the Awards: the Schools Award, which is open to any school in Queensland who demonstrates a whole of school approach to promoting the mental health and wellbeing of their students.
The Awards have been an Annual Flagship event for Mental Health Week since 1996, and this year marks 25 years of celebrations, acknowledging the work of the sector.
Paula Mayson, CEO at Open Minds, said: “Last year we made the difficult decision to postpone the Awards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m pleased to say that we are shaping up for an in-person event this year! As statistics have demonstrated, the pandemic has taken it’s toll on the mental health of Australians. This is why we feel it is more important than ever to recognise the achievements of those in the mental health sector who are working to improve the lives of those living with mental illnesses.
“We are truly honoured to have run the Qld Mental Health Week Achievement Awards since 1996. Those who don’t know the history of how the Awards came about – we provided support to Earle Duus who had acquired a brain injury, upon his passing he left a bequest to Open Minds, and the Awards were started in his honour. Today, the overarching Award of all 11 categories as chosen by the judges is named the Earle Duus Award and the $4,000 prize money comes from his generous bequest.
“We are very excited to have added a new category for schools to the Queensland Mental Health Week Achievement Awards in 2021, to recognise the great work that our local schools are doing to promote positive mental health at such a young age.”
Any person, organisation or group that runs programs to create awareness or support people with mental illness can nominate themselves for an Award.
Winning an award acknowledges innovation, program design and the dedication and commitment to mental health in Queensland.
There is also prize money for some of the award categories which is intended to help the winners continue their fantastic work making a difference to the lives of Queenslanders.
The Achievement Awards take place during Queensland Mental Health Week. This year, the award ceremony will be held on Friday 15th October 2021 from 7:30am – 10:00am at Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.
The deadline for submitting an award is Monday 2nd August 2021.
If you would like to attend the Awards ceremony, sign up to the Open Minds newsletter to be kept in the loop for when tickets go on sale.
Below are the categories, nominations can be submitted easily online and entrants can save progress as they go.
Here’s where you can submit a nomination.
Categories: Schools Award, Early Years Award, Jeff Cheverton Individual Award, Jude Bugeja – Peer Experience Award, LGBTI Award, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Award, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Award, Not-For-Profit – Small to Medium Enterprise (1-100 staff), Not-For-Profit – Large Enterprise (101+ staff), Workplace Award – Small to Medium Enterprise (1-200 staff), Workplace Award Large Enterprise (201+ staff).
Nominations are now OPEN. Nominate for an award here before the nomination deadline of Monday 2nd August 2021.
We would like to thank this year’s Achievement Awards sponsors: Queensland Mental Health Commission, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), QLD Alliance for Mental Health, QuAc, Richmond Fellowship Queensland (RFQ), QLD Health, The Office of Industrial Relations, Workcover and headspace.