Background

For many years Hume City Council has presented Community Awards at an event that is held each year on 26 January (the 2022 event was postponed due to uncertainty regarding COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria). The former award categories were:

  • Citizen of the year
  • Young citizen of the year
  • Community event of the year
  • Senior citizen of the year (new category in 2020).

Traditionally there have been low numbers of nominations received for the Young Citizen of the Year and Community Event of the Year award categories, and in recent years there has been a small drop in the number of submissions received in these categories.

In September 2022 Hume's Councillors formally decided to change the community awards to an event that will recognise the community with a broader, more meaningful, set of categories.

What we were asking

Council is currently seeking feedback from the community to establish community awards which are meaningful to community members, and will leave nominees and prospective nominees with a sense of Hume Council saying ‘We’re proud of what you do. We want to recognise your efforts and help you to continue on.”

A review of other councils revealed a diverse approach to categories. Here are some to help you start thinking about the depth and breadth of what can be celebrated:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leader of the year
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander emerging young community leader of the year
  • Community initiative of the year
  • Contribution to arts
  • Contribution to community
  • Contribution to diversity and inclusion
  • Contribution to heritage
  • Contribution to sport
  • Disability access and inclusion citizen of the year
  • Gender equity leader of the year
  • Intercultural engagement leader of the year
  • Sustainability award

This consultation is to assist Council in determining the most appropriate categories in which community members may be nominated.

It is proposed that there will be approximately six to eight categories, and will be based on community members’ suggestions.

We asked, you said, we did

We asked what community award categories you wanted to see. Over 50 people filled out a survey and let us know what categories were important to them. Acknowledging service to the community, educational achievement, artistic expression, environment and community leadership were among the categories mentioned.

In response 8 new community awards were created:

  • Academic excellence
  • Advocacy and social justice
  • Arts and creative expression
  • Community service excellence
  • Environmental stewardship
  • Outstanding cultural leadership
  • Outstanding community leadership
  • Sport and recreation achievement.