MEETinLEEDS won a prestigious award at the second edition Academic Venue Awards (AVA) at the University of Birmingham on Tuesday 27th November 2018.
The team scooped the accolade for Best Accessibility, which comes on the back of winning the ‘Best Partnership’ award at the Conference Awards in June.
There were 14 awards at the AVA’s, covering all essential services academic venues offer the events industry. MEETinLEEDS were also nominated for ‘Best Accommodation’.
Harriet Boatwright, Sales and Marketing Manager for MEETinLEEDS said:
“I am so proud of my team in the wider conference service for the excellent work they do every day – the awards are a testament to that! The team would all like to thank the other services that work hard behind the scenes that make our events possible – we couldn’t have done it without you!”
Below is a brief explanation of why the judges awarded the honours to the University of Leeds.
The MEETinLEEDS team and University of Leeds are aligned in their shared strategy to make to University a more accessible and inclusive venue for all conference delegates and visitors. By listening to returning clients and directly implement suggestions the conference team and University can constantly improve accessibility.
The MEETinLEEDS team have all undertaken Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) training, in order to ensure we are aware of the most professional and effective communication with delegates who use AAC.
The team host a number of events that demonstrate the performance and versatility of our accessibility, including:
Communication Matters
The Communication Matters National AAC Conference is the UK’s leading annual AAC event, with a diverse programme of plenaries, presentations, posters and exhibition held over two and a half days.
The conference provides a unique forum to meet and exchange information with representatives from all disciplines associated with AAC, including people who use AAC, parents, carers, professionals and suppliers of AAC equipment. Communication Matters encourages and supports people who use AAC to attend.
Ruth McMorran, Co-Chair of Communication Matters said:
“The layout of the campus at Leeds is ideal for us with the residential accommodation, the Refectory, exhibition area, lecture theatres and seminar rooms all located close together. Many of our delegates are wheelchair users and the site is easily navigated and provides accessible routes to all buildings. The MEETinLEEDS team work extremely hard to ensure that each conference is better than the one before.”
Back Up Trust
The Back- up trust are a charity who work predominantly with people who are affected by spinal cord injury which leads to partial or total paralysis.
Both of these events return to the University campus year on year because they have such a positive experience. The conference team as a unit work so closely with clients and have the opportunity to encourage change across the campus, in the way that might not be possible in other venues, that Communication Matters moved offices to the University of Leeds campus in 2015.