U-BEACH wins prestigious Universities Australia award
By Tiahna Fiddling
CQUniversity’s Universal Beach Accessibility Hub (U-BEACH) project has been announced as the winner of the Community Champion Award at the Universities Australia (UA) 2023 Shaping Australia Awards.
Launched by UA last September, the Shaping Australia Awards celebrate the contribution universities and the people within them make to the country each day.
The Community Champion Award specifically recognised U-BEACH for the initiative’s exceptional impact in improving beach accessibility for individuals with disabilities or mobility limitations.
Led by CQUniversity neurological physiotherapy and research higher degree candidate Sasha Job, with research supervisors Dr Steven Obst and Dr Luke Heales, U‐BEACH is the first study to develop and evaluate the impact of a universal beach accessibility program.
The award was presented to Ms Job and Dr Heales by the Federal Minister for Education, the Honourable Jason Clare, at a gala ceremony held at Parliament House in Canberra. More than 800 people attended the event, including the Prime Minister.
Ms Job expressed her gratitude to UA for highlighting the collaborative project and supporting positive societal change.
"This award is a testament to the collaborative spirit and dedication of our team, as well as the unwavering support from our partners and communities,” Ms Job said.
“Together, we are breaking down barriers and fostering a more inclusive society where everyone can enjoy the beach."
Through research, advocacy, and community engagement, U-BEACH seeks to create inclusive environments where everyone can enjoy the benefits of beach-based activities and therapeutic interventions.
U-BEACH has already led to significant improvements in beach accessibility across Queensland, and notably helping to launch the inaugural CQUniversity U-BEACH Community Beach Day event in 2023.
These achievements were praised by the Shaping Australia Awards judging panel of eminent Australians, who selected four winners from 18 high calibre finalists. The three awards categories encapsulated excellence in research, teaching, and community service.
An additional three winners with the highest vote counts were selected by the Australian community through a people’s choice voting system.
Transcript
Sasha Job: Today we've got our U Beach Community Beach day. So it's an all inclusive Beach day where we've got accessible mats and beach equipment so everyone can enjoy the beach.
In Bundaberg this is our first ever event, so we're pretty excited. It's been a few years in the making to get the equipment to to build up our networks for our access hub.
Just to see people freely coming onto the beach the very first person to walk down the mat did so just with a little bit of support purely because the matwas here. She said she has MS and it's been a number of years many years since she's been to the beach and she used to swim every day and she was just overwhelmed with joy which just made me so proud of our community that we can just bring this joy to people's life and share the magic of the beach
Kathryn Tolstoï: I loved it. I had two supporters Scott from Surf Lifesavers and they do a fabulous job 9 to 5, 7 days a week along the coast here. talking to him gave me the opportunity to figure out how might be able to do it at Kelly's Beach which is closer to my place, Clara from the CQU physio crew helped me into the water.
It was refreshing and I just had to get down. I had some fear but I knew I had support so I got on my knees and and I got wet up to my sort of neck on waves. It was refreshing, cool, liberating freeing.
Sasha Job: So we know that in our region around one in five people have disability and 50 per cent of thosepeople have told us they can't access the beach. We have surveyed our community to understand what the the challenges they face are and we've really looked at solutions to overcome the challenges that people with disability have told us exist here. I'm hoping that anyone who wants to access the beach can do so.
Some of the key challenges people face are moving through the soft sand and a lack of mobility equipment. Another challenge people have in getting to the beach is they sometimes don't have the support required because of these needs for equipment.
We've got CQU Physio and OT students volunteering their time to assist with hoist transfers and transfers to the equipment, and helping people just engage in the activities on the beach.
Shaping Australia Awards judging panel Chair Lisa Paul AO PSM congratulated all the winners and finalists on driving such important initiatives.
“Australia’s universities are amazing places that contribute so much to the country we’re proud to call home, and to the lives of all Australians, through cutting-edge research, teaching and service to the community,” Ms Paul said.
“Winning initiatives that had the edge ultimately came down to how the problem that needed a solution was communicated, and how wide-reaching the impact of the solution was.”
Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said, “the Shaping Australia Awards is all about celebrating the rich contribution universities make to the nation, and the work showcased through our finalists is worth applauding.”
“Australia is stronger for the transformative research, world-class teaching and the community spirit our universities support and deliver,” Mr Sheehey said.
“We look forward to opening the 2024 Shaping Australia Awards later this year.”
A full description of the winning projects is available on the Shaping Australia Awards website.
