2026 Award Nomination Timeline

For each of the awards, the opportunity to make a nomination is open to the Board, Branches, Networks, and Ordinary financial (voting) members. Read on for eligibility criteria for each of the awards. When awards are made, these are usually planned for presentation during the evening of the Conference Dinner. Anyone planning to make a nomination for the Board’s consideration should ensure that, along with supporting details, this is received at the National Office no later than 5 pm, Wednesday 5 August 2026. This applies tothe following awards…

Beamish Memorial Medal: This award may be made to an Ordinary Member of Blind Citizens NZ who has made an outstanding contribution to society in their particular field of service to the community.

Extra Touch Award: This award recognises an individual, organisation or business that, in working to meet the needs of the general public, makes an outstanding contribution towards improving access or services to blind, deafblind, low vision or vision-impaired people.
Access is broadly defined and includes to:

▪ information;
▪ buildings and public facilities;
▪ transport and pedestrian safety;
▪ technology and communications;
▪ educational, vocational or recreational opportunities;
▪ everyday equipment;
▪ shops and customer service;
▪ services in general.

Johnston Cup for Leadership: The purpose of this award is to recognise Ordinary Members of Blind Citizens NZ whose ability to lead and influence others in a particular direction has been clearly demonstrated, either inside or outside the blind community. This award fosters an environment within Blind Citizens NZ that values leadership and encourages its members to undergo leadership training conducted or supported by Blind Citizens NZ.

Anyone nominated for this award must have met one or more of the following:

▪ demonstrated leadership in a specific field of endeavour;
▪ assumed leadership responsibilities beyond what might have been expected in the role;
▪ contributed in some demonstrable way to the betterment of the community by way of leadership.

Memorial Hall of Honour: Nominations for Blind Citizens NZ’s Memorial Hall of Honour must be for a blind, deafblind, lowvision, or visionimpaired person who was born in New Zealand or has lived here.

The nominee does not need to have been a member of Blind Citizens NZ, but they must be deceased. Nominees must also be someone who has:

▪ made a substantial and outstanding contribution over many years towards the advancement of the interests and well-being of the blind in New Zealand; or
▪ through their trail-blazing efforts or personal example, inspired others in the blind community to overcome the barriers to participation in a sighted world.

If you’re making or endorsing a nomination, it is your responsibility to ensure the nominee meets the award criteria.