Watch the Sense Awards 2023
Set your reminder! The 20th Sense Awards will take place tonight at 6pm!
It’s the 20th year of the Sense Awards, where we celebrate the achievements of people with complex disabilities.
This special event is a highlight of our year. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of people with complex disabilities, and the people who support them.
Find out more about this year’s host, Samantha Renke, and our brilliant judges. And check out the shortlist of this year’s nominees.
What are the Sense Awards?
The Sense Awards is an annual awards ceremony with a long history. This year will be its 20th year!
The ceremony will be available to watch on this page, so you can be a part of it, no matter where you are. Watch last year’s ceremony.
We’ll be celebrating nominees in 13 categories
-
Person of the Year
Have you or someone you know had an exceptional year? Maybe they overcame a huge barrier, or reached a personal goal? We want to hear about it! This award is for a person who is deafblind and/or has complex needs, who has achieved something fantastic in the last 12 months.
-
Young Person of the Year
Our Young Person of the Year Award is for someone under 25, who is deafblind and/or has complex needs, and has achieved something incredible this year.
-
Young Sibling of the Year
Siblings play a huge role in the lives and wellbeing of their disabled brothers and sisters. That’s why we celebrate them at the Sense Awards.
-
Family Carer of the Year
Know a carer who’s especially resilient, determined or kind? This is the category for them.
-
Volunteer of the Year
This category is all about the tremendous commitment and dedication of Sense volunteers. Whether the nominee works in a Sense shop, volunteers on Sense Holidays or gives their time to support the charity in another way, we want to hear about them!
-
Campaigner of the Year
Have you or someone you know started a viral social media campaign, racked up thousands of signatures on a petition, or met with an MP to discuss the challenges disabled people face? This award is for those who are fighting for change.
-
Celebrity of the Year
This category is for the trail-blazing disabled celebrities who are making a household name for themselves, and advocating for disabled people everywhere.
-
Fundraiser of the Year
Sense’s work wouldn’t be possible without our fundraisers. This award is for the people who’ve gone out of their way to support us.
-
Influencer of the Year
Get ready to like and follow! Our Influencer of the Year is someone who’s using social media to raise awareness about disability (and creating ace content while they’re at it).
-
Parliamentarian of the Year
Celebrating MPs who promote positive change for people with complex disabilities.
-
Journalism of the Year
This award recognises boundary-pushing journalism that champions the voices of disabled people.
-
Partner of the Year and Community Partner of the Year
Amazing things happen when people work together with a shared vision. These two awards recognise organisations that have collaborated with Sense.
If you’re a Sense Employee, take a look at the categories for the Sense Employee Awards.
Who’s won a Sense Award before?
Check out some of our amazing previous winners.
Max Fisher
Max is a genderqueer, deafblind scientist and drag king who uses their disability to give them an edge. Their canes and BSL make their drag performances educational, inclusive and even more entertaining for the audience. They won Person of the Year at the Sense Awards in 2022.
Gillian Marren
Gillian, who has been a nurse for 48 years, won Family Carer of the Year at the Sense Awards 2022. Gillian cares for a number of her family members. This includes her husband of 50 years, Robert, who has diabetes, Alzheimer’s dementia and has been deaf since birth.
Lauren Gilbert
Lauren Gilbert, also known as Neurodiversity with Lozza, spreads awareness about issues that the disabled community faces through easy to read, accessible posts. Lauren’s work is used by mental health nurses to educate about autism in the workplace. They won Influencer of the Year at the Sense Awards in 2022.
Shelby Lynch
Model and social media superstar Shelby Lynch won our Influencer of the Year award in 2021. She has spinal muscular atrophy, and uses her platform to advocate tirelessly for more diversity in the fashion industry.