Nominations are always open for the annual Victorian Public Sector LGBTIQ+ Pride Awards. In 2022, nominations close on 30 June 2022.
Submitting a successful nomination
Our judging panel will assess the award nomination based on the written evidence you submit. Here are some tips for writing a successful nomination:
- the nomination must address each selection criteria in the relevant award category. Judging panels consider all criteria equally when selecting the finalists and winners
- provide appropriate evidence and data where possible
- it should be clear what makes the nominee’s contribution outstanding. It may be helpful to think of the nomination as a job application
- nominees and nominators should be specific about the nominee’s strengths and provide clear examples. Statements such as 'I am a good team member', 'I have an understanding of trends' or 'training is fundamental to our success’ should be supported by evidence and examples.
Case study: Bendigo Senior Secondary College – Allies
Bendigo Senior Secondary College (BSSC) was the winner of the 2019 Workplace Pride Initiative of the Year Award. BSSC had a goal within our College Strategic Plan to increase the culture of inclusivity, with several cohorts, including LGBTIQ+ students and staff, specifically identified. After consulting widely with their local LGBTIQ+ community, Safe Schools and many schools and universities nationwide, BSSC implemented an Ally model. Allies publicly acknowledge that they have been trained as an Ally by placing a BSSC Ally sticker on their office door and branding on their BSSC email signature and they always maintain professionalism and clear boundaries in their interactions with students.
Their Ally program responded to the selection criteria in the following ways:
- Impact – over 80 staff have volunteered to undertake ally training and BSSC have seen an increase in the number of transgender students choosing to enrol at our college, many of whom are from outside our catchment area and state that they are choosing BSSC because of our inclusive and supportive culture.
- Engagement - students report that they feel incredibly supported in our inclusive environment through both formal surveys and real stories from students where they talk about the school being a safe space.
- Sustainability - BSSC continue to train more staff and as the program has been created in collaboration with Safe Schools, the model can be replicated by other schools across the state. They also consulted widely with students, parents, school staff and the local LGBTIQ+ communities which means that they program is well embedded in the school to the point that staff are disappointed when they miss out on training.
BSSC submitted a video of this program with their nomination which was a great resource in in telling the story of their program. Although not essential, extra resources like these really help the panel to understand the great work happening.
Judging
Judges' decisions are final, and no further correspondence will be entered into.
A panel of independent judges will assess each nomination against the selection criteria. Chance will not play a role in determining finalist selection. In this case, 'independent' refers to people who are not directly or indirectly involved in the writing of Pride Network End of Year Award submissions or in the development or implementation of activities associated with such applications.
Judges use the matrix below to score each criterion:
Other important information
Award winners may be required to participate in photography and videography activities for the award ceremony and awards promotion purposes. Winners agree to provide permission to the VPS Pride Network for on-going use of images/recordings of themselves for promotional purposes.
Consistent with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014(opens in a new window) (Vic), the VPS Pride Network is committed to protecting the personal information that it collects and uses. Private and personal information supplied will be used by the selection panels only to assist decision-making.
Information will not be disclosed or used for any other purpose without the express consent of the person to whom the information relates, unless otherwise required by law.
The VPS Pride Network reserves the right to use all or part of any material, including submissions and photographs, for any publicity campaign. Copyright of any materials produced during, or as a result of, the award is owned by the Victorian Government.
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