Finding the Flow
- Be. Accessible Year in Review 2015/16
Welcome
Welcome to the 2015/16 Be. Accessible Year in Review, “Finding the Flow”.
I am confident that as you read through this summary of the year that was, you will join me in celebrating the many and varied successes that this growing community of leaders and access champions has and is creating minute by minute, day by day and year by year.
Qualities of commitment, passion, humanity, and belief in possibility are vital when creating courageous social change and I see an abundance of all these qualities in the Be. team, the Be. Board and our many partners, friends, colleagues and fellow access champions.
It takes enormous energy to generate true momentum with any social change movement and the Be. Accessible social movement is no different. I believe that surge of “start up” energy is now truly starting to be felt and to self-generate. We all know and recognise that feeling when things just seem to find their rhythm and life seems to flow.
I believe that is where we are at after five exciting, challenging and glorious years and the momentum is only building as more and more business leaders, community leaders and citizens of Aotearoa realise and actualise the value of a truly accessible world for us all.
The robust and highly engaged Fab 50 members, the 99 Be. Leaders, the talented Be. Employed interns and employees, the hundreds of private and public organisations embracing and leading accessibility for both staff and customers in their sectors or regions are all testament to this momentum, leadership and belief that together we can create a better New Zealand for us all.
“When dreams and realities are one, the miracle has happened.” - DH Lawrence
Join the movement, Be. the change and let us all Be. Accessible New Zealand!
Thank you!
Minnie b. xx
Our Fabulous Team
Board of Trustees
- John Allen, Chairman – CEO, NZ Racing Board
- Mary Jane Rivers - Founder, Inspiring Communities
- Ross Brereton - Former CEO, Disabled Persons Assembly of NZ and former Human Rights Commissioner
- Ant Howard - Director, Howard & Company
- Andy Martin - CEO NZ Football, Former Executive Board member of Corporate Banking Division of Barclays PLC
Be. Team
- Minnie Baragwanath - Chief Executive
- Megan Barclay - Programme Director
- Lesley Slade - Programme Director
- Philip Patston - Programme Director
- Qiujing Easterbrook-Wong - Be. Campaign Director, CEO - Borderless
- Kylie Shirtliff – Relationship Manager – Be. Welcome
- Lauren Wetini – Project Manager – Be. Welcome
- Adrian Holmes – Accessibility Advisor
- Michelle Jurgens - Be. Leadership Programme Manager
- Hannah Slade – Be. Leadership Programme Manager and Communications Manager
- Sarah Mitchell – Relationship Manager – Be. Employed
- Jacob Mills – Relationship Manager – Be. Employed
- Chris Jones - EA and Office Manager
- Debbie Irwin - Website Administrator
- Janelle Keksz – Finance Manager
- Kala Lawson-McGhee – Be. Campaign Manager, Social Change Activations Manager - Borderless
- Indula Jayasundara – Be. Intern
Celebrating our Fab 50 Network and their achievements
Having a network of influential leaders as impressive as the Be. Fab 50 Network is certainly an honour and a pleasure for us at Be. Accessible. Members of this diverse group are invited to join because they have shown leadership and commitment to access in their lives and work, and wish to grow that commitment through their support of Be.
“Being part of the Fab 50 is being part of a living social change movement. Empowering our community to understand the needs and hopes of those who go unnoticed. Be. Accessible is simply brilliant and so relevant. It’s at the core of real need and enlightenment for so many New Zealanders.”
- Sir Bob Harvey, Fab 50 member
Meet the Fab 50 Network
Adrian Sole
General Manager, Affinity Digital
Alex Hannant
Chief Executive, Akina Foundation
Amanda Judd
CEO, Kai and Director, Lovenotes
Andrea Rickard
Senior Technical Director, Beca
Andrew Hamilton
CEO, The Icehouse
Andrew Krukziener
Founder, Krukziener Properties
Anna Bounds
Chief Operating Officer, Waikato University
Anna Stove
General Manager, GlaxoSmithKline
Bill Duncan
Consultant, Fortune Manning
Brett O’Riley
Chief Executive, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development
Sir Bob Harvey
International Auckland Champion, Auckland Council
Casey Eden
Co-Founder, Neighbourly
Craig Fisher
Audit Partner, Chairman, RSM New Zealand Group
Craig Richardson
CEO, Wynyard Group
David Rutherford
Chief Commissioner, Human Rights Commission
Derek McCormack
Vice Chancellor, AUT University
Drew McGuire
Director, Capability Group
Erica Whineray Kelly
Breast Cancer Surgeon, Auckland Breast Centre
Fiona Fenwick
CEO, Fifteen Minutes
Gael Surgenor
Director Community and Social Innovation, The Southern Initiative at Auckland Council
Kate Daly
Chief People and Communications Officer, Fletcher Building Ltd
Kathryn McPherson
Chief Executive, Health Research Council of New Zealand
Kevin Lavery
CEO, Wellington City Council
Kevin McCaffrey
Executive Director, EY
Lauren Merritt
Chief Awesome Officer, Ministry of Awesome
Laurence Sheriff
Director, Align
Ludo Campbell-Reid
General Manager, Auckland Design Office, Auckland Council
Malcolm Johns
Chief Executive, Christchurch International Airport
Martin Fenwick
CEO, Altris
Melissa Clark-Reynolds
Professional Company Director and Digital Strategist
Mike Chunn
CEO, Play it Strange
Naimh McMahon
Partner, McMahon Butterworth & Thompson
Olivier Lacoua
General Manager, CQ Hotel Wellington
Dame Paula Rebstock
Chair, Accident Compensation Corporation
Penny Hulse
Deputy Mayor, Auckland Council
Peter Hughes
State Services Commissioner, State Services Commission
Peter Kerridge
Partner, Kerridge and Partners
Peter Reidy
Chief Executive, KiwiRail
Peter Townsend
CEO, Canterbury Employer’s Chamber of Commerce
Phil O’Reily
Director, Iron Duke Partners
Red Nicholson
Head of Media Studies, Onehunga High School
Robyn Scott
Director, Ministry of Youth Development
Roy Clare
Director, Auckland War Memorial Museum
Sam Johnson
Founder, Student Volunteer Army
Sarah Trotman
Director - Business Relations, AUT University
Scott Pickering
Chief Executive, Accident Compensation Corporation
Sean Gray
Chief Executive, NZ Artificial Limb Service
Sharon Hunter
Director, Hunter Powell Investment Partners
Shelley Campbell
CEO, Sir Peter Blake Trust
Simon Power
GM - Consumer Banking & Wealth, Westpac
Simon Tong
Managing Director, Fairfax Media
Stephen Town
Chief Executive, Auckland Council
Steve Ellingford
Centre Manager, Bayfair Shopping Centre
Sudesh Jhunjhnuwala
CEO, Sudima Hotels
Tara Pradhan
Senior Strategic Advisor, Auckland Council
Tenby Powell
Director, Hunter Powell Investment Partners
Tim Miles
CEO, Spark Digital
Victoria Crone
Auckland Mayoral Candidate, Auckland City
Vivian Bridgewater
GM - Destination and Marketing, ATEED
Wayne Besant
CEO, AIA New Zealand
Congratulations to…
Over the past 12 months, many of our Fab 50 have achieved outstanding success in accessibility as well as in their own fields of endeavor!
Olivier Lacoua – GM, CQ Hotel Wellington
Winner of the 2015 Attitude ACC Employer Award
Team Gold Finalist and Winner at the Wellington Gold Awards - June 2016
Absolutely Positively Wellington Award (APW) July 2016
New Zealand Sign Language Awards - Best Employer May 2016
New Zealand Sign Language Awards - Accessible Service May 2016
Martin Fenwick - Director, Altris
Joint winner of the IMNZ Business <$5M Turnover Award at the 2015 AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards.
Sudesh Jhunjhnuwala – CEO, Sudima Hotels
Sudima Hotel Christchurch – awarded a Be. Welcome Gold rating
Steve Ellingford - Centre Manager, Bayfair Shopping Centre
Bayfair Shopping Centre – awarded a Be. Welcome Platinum rating
Paula Rae Rebstock, CNZM, Chairperson of ACC
Queen's New Year Honours 2016 - awarded DNZM for services to the State
Philip O'Reilly, CEO Iron Duke Partners
Queen's 90th Birthday Honours - awarded ONZM for services to business and governance
Shelley Campbell, CEO Sir Peter Blake Tust
Queen's 90th Birthday Honours - awarded MNZM for services to health and people with disabilities
New Zealand: Be.coming a more accessible place to visit, enjoy and Be.
- The Be. Welcome Story (2015/16)
What a stunning year it has been for businesses and organisations leading the way in creating accessibility across New Zealand.
New Zealand can now boast two shopping centres that have achieved the coveted Platinum Be. Accessible Rating; Palms Shopping Centre in Christchurch (South Island) and Bayfair Shopping Centre in Bay of Plenty (North Island). Achieving Platinum is no small feat and there are now three organisations credited with this, including the AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards Gala Event.
Relevant media article:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/82168748/the-palms-shopping-centre-recognised-for-accessibility-efforts
A community of access champions is growing across New Zealand, with more than 60 Be. Confident workshops held in office boardrooms and visitor attraction staffrooms since the first one in 2013. That’s nearly 950 individuals across New Zealand.
Our team of Be. Coaches have been busy bringing the total number of businesses and organisations committed to growing access to a grand total of 510.
The “Building Better Business Through Accessibility” event was an evening of conversation, generously hosted by Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua, bringing together a group of accessibility champions, and the business community of Rotorua. These networking and business sharing events are critical to building momentum and understanding of the accessibility movement!
Warrant of Fitness
The Be. Welcome Warrant of Fitness programme has had a significant impact on access improvements delivered across the country. Guided by the Be. team and a local Be. Coach, organisations can track their improvements and improve their accessibility rating..
In the past year the Be. team has worked with 76 Be. Welcomed organisations to check on their levels of “accessibility fitness”. In this short time, nine organisations have been awarded a higher rating amounting to hundreds of access improvements; and that’s only the ones we know about.
Many organisations report to be simply making improvements as a part of their day-to-day operations because they see how easy small improvements are to make.
It’s the Welly Way!
Creating exceptional accessible journeys is as much a science as it is an art, and the size, culture and attitude of Wellington City has enabled it to over the past twelve months.
The city has come into its “accessibility own” with Wellington City Council taking the lead and inviting more than 15 organisations to create greater access. Parliamentary Services and Government House (Wellington) stand out from the crowd with accessibility improvements that include:
· Captioning videos
· Increasing the font and colour contrast on all brochures
· Expanding the language options of tours to include New Zealand Sign Language
· Tactical indicators added in locations where there is a change in gradient and at the head and foot of internal ramp and stairs
· Installing accessible carparks
· Creating innovative visual graphics to highlight changes in ground levels
· Installing signage indicating access routes to the accessible bathroom
· Installing a hearing loop
Wellington City can be proud of leading organisations committed to improving the accessibility of the City. These are:
AlignBrentwood Hotel
CQ Hotels Wellington
Felix Café
Hutt Valley Hospital
Wellington Station
KiwiRail Scenic Journeys
Interislander
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Parliamentary Service
Wairarapa Hospital
Wellington Botanic Gardens
Freyberg Pool
Wellington Cable Car
Wellington Zoo
Michael Fowler Centre
St James Theatre
Westpac Stadium
Copthorne Hotel Wellington
City Gallery Wellington
Cable Car Museum
Nairn Street Cottage
Carters Observatory
Wellington Museum
Capital E
Westpac Stadium
Zealandia
Wellington Airport
Shed 6
TSB Arena
Wellington Opera House
Academy of Fine Arts
Circa Theatre
Botanic Garden Walk
City Walk
Meridian Energy Wind Sculpture Walk
Wellington Central Library
Government House
Toi Poneke Arts Centre
Weta Workshop
Pukeahu War Memorial Park
A growing case for access tourism
By 2050, the access market will represent 25% of global tourism, forming a powerful case for accessibility. Access tourism is all about creating opportunities for us all to participate and enjoy everything that travel has to offer whether it be visit a new city, attend an exciting event like the Lantern Festival, Diwali or perhaps the AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards, dine at a stunning restaurant, shop online and catch a train, bus or taxi. That’s why Be. Accessible has been working with organisations such as Uber, AUT University, Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development Agency, and Tourism Industry Aotearoa to just name a few.
Relevant articles:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/70851779/be-accessible-helping-nz-businesses-tap-into-unrealised-potential
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/79036240/uber-becomes-more-accessible-through-new-disability-service
Yellow excellence
2015/16 has brought a critical partnership with Yellow Pages Online and its online subsidiaries such as New Zealand Tourism Guide, developing greater reach across more directory platforms to mainstream information and data on accessible destinations around the country.
The team at Yellow have not been satisfied with just sharing the Be. Welcome businesses access information on their online directories. The entire organisation has been working diligently to ensure that all of their directories and mapping tools are leading the way in best accessibility practice.
“Yellow is proud to support the incredible work that Minnie and her team are doing. We look forward to utilising our own networks to help promote and share the work of Be. Accessible, along with being an active part of the Be. Accessible movement”
- Michael Boerson, CEO, Yellow Pages Group
Ageing and the value of great access
You probably have been living under a rock if you’ve missed the fact that by 2030 25% New Zealanders will be over the age of 65. That’s a significant number of customers, residents and travellers who need great access. Selwyn Foundation are working with Be. to become the first truly accessible independent living experience for the older person. The Foundation has focused initially on the physical environment by engaging Be’s expertise to guide the development of new complexes around the North Island, and are well and truly on track with this.
“Working with Independent Living and Retirement village, Selwyn Foundation, has demonstrated first-hand the power of modelling great access for every life stage, and the impact it can have on our long-term quality of life.”
- Megan Barclay, Programme Director
The growing network of Champions
Be. Confident workshops are designed to grow awareness and build confidence in supporting customers or colleagues with access needs. We asked them how the workshop experience impacted them. Here are the results of that survey (population = 205).