Regional content creators with disability given opportunity to showcase talent

Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services, says that the Federal Government has committed $60,000 to give regional Australians living with disability the opportunity to undertake the scholarship with the ABC. 

The opportunity is also about increasing employment opportunities for content creators living with disability, says Minister Ruston. 

“Getting a job and having a job is an absolute game-changer in anybody’s life and that shouldn’t be any different for somebody who has a disability.

“By supporting these content makers to distribute their work and have their voices heard it will hopefully inspire other artists with disability to follow their dreams and break down barriers to employment.”

Minister Ruston congratulated the 2020 scholarship winners, Fiona Murphy and Angus Thompson.  

“We are proud to reveal this year’s scholarship winners as writer and podcaster Fiona Murphy from Tamworth, NSW, and actor and storyteller, Angus Thompson, from Bathurst, NSW, who starred in the ABC iview Fresh Blood series based on his life called The Angus Project.

“I want to congratulate all of the applicants who sought to be part of the program this year, which has seen the pitching of dozens of high-quality and creative ideas from the important voices of people with disability across Australia.”

Fiona’s content idea will centre on deaf identity and culture and seeks to collect stories about what it is like to be deaf or hard-of-hearing in Australia.

While Angus will seek to produce a series of short online videos, which will take a comedic look at how he tries and struggles to use ‘everyday’ items that aren’t designed for people with disability.

Judith Whelan, ABC Regional and Local Director, says that she applauds the support of the scholarship. 

“Now in its third year, this scholarship has been instrumental in furthering the careers and aspirations of very talented content makers with disability, allowing them to showcase their skills and experience through a range of avenues.

“These two scholarship winners will work with various ABC teams over three months, to develop their skills, produce content and gain valuable employment experience.”  

Applications for 2021 will open later in the year, and people with disability, living in rural and regional Australia with innovative content ideas are encouraged to apply.

You can find out more about the content produced by previous scholarship winners Catherine Mahoney on Editors Choice – A fine line and Eliza Hull on Life Matters – We’ve Got This.