Carold Institute - for the advancement of citizenship in social change

June 27, 2011

The Carold Institute announced today the recipient of the 2011 Alan Thomas Fellowship, a $60,000 grant established to provide a sabbatical year to an award applicant wanting to reflect on, and research issues that advance citizenship, participation, and social change.

 The 2011 award winner is John B. Cox of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, for his application Getting Included: How Labeled Individuals Have Impacted Inclusion. John is a community development worker with a long history of advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities. For the past 23 years he has worked with the Nova Scotia chapter of People First, a well- recognized self-advocacy organization for people who have been labeled intellectually disabled.

 The Alan Thomas Fellowship will provide John with a sabbatical to examine the advocacy work of people labeled as having intellectual disabilities, and their influence and impact on Canadian policies of inclusion. Through documentation, research and reflection on the historical work of People First of Canada, including his own life-long advocacy, John will chronicle how this national not-for-profit has mobilized civil society to push for key policy changes.

 This project will advance the objectives of the Fellowship, which is designed to:

• strengthen networks among civil society leaders and social movements
• add to the understanding of related issues of policy and practice
• capture practitioners’ knowledge
• generate activities that will have a multiplier effect

 The first Alan Thomas  Fellowship was awarded in 2008. John Cox is the sixth recipient of the award. Past Fellowship recipients continue to be connected to the Carold Institute, disseminating the results of their work and mentoring others in their various fields.

 For more information on this award and on the work of the Carold Institute, contact :

Arpi Hamalian (telephone 514 848 2424 ext. 2014 or 514 486 6170 arpi.hamalian@sympatico.ca)