At a ceremony in London in October, the national deafblind charity, SENSE, presented its Sense Awards, recognising people for campaigning, volunteering and working for deafblind people.
The calibre of winners was demonstrated by Lex Grandia who received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr Grandia has worked on a UN Convention on disability, on legislation recognising deafblindness in several countries, and in an organisation representing 650 million disabled people worldwide. Other winners included Elinor Scott (Young Deafblind Person of the Year), Elaine Steer (Volunteer of the Year), Deborah Dowsett (Employee of the Year) and Chipstead Valley Primary School in Surrey (Local Partnership/Community Organisation of the Year).
The awards ceremony was hosted by BBC News presenter Louise Minchin, who commented “I am so impressed by the dedication, innovation and good work of the people I met.”