Citizen of the Year

Honouring our local heroes – 2019 applications now open

The Inner West Council Citizen, Senior Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year Awards aim to recognize outstanding contributions from individuals within the inner west community.

One award is offered in each category and awarded at the Council's Australia Day event. Each of these awards will be given in recognition of people who have provided outstanding service for the welfare of the general community.

Applications open: Tuesday 29 May 2018
Applications close: 9am, Monday 26 November 2018

The Inner West Council Citizen, Senior Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year Awards aim to recognize outstanding contributions from individuals within the inner west community.

Conditions of entry

Nominees:

must be Australian citizens and be a resident / a student / a worker or a volunteer in the Inner West LGA;
must be 26 or over on 26 January 2019 to be considered for the Citizen of the Year Award;
must identify as a senior citizen to be considered for the Senior Citizen of the Year Award;
must be 25 years of age or under on 26 January 2019 to be considered for the Young Citizen of the Year Award;
must not be Members of Parliament, former Councillors, or employees of Inner West Council;
must not be members of the Australia Day Committee or have received Australian or Imperial Honours;
must be nominated by someone other than themselves;
cannot be considered for a second award in a category in which they have already received an award in a previous year; however future recognition is possible in one of the other two available awards. For example, a person who has previously been awarded a Young Citizen of the Year award would be eligible for consideration under the Citizen of the Year or Senior Citizen of the Year categories in a following year.

Council reserves the right to withdraw an award if further information or the recipient's conduct draws the local Citizen of the Year Awards into disrepute.

Awards will not be granted posthumously.

Judging criteria

The nominee must have contributed significantly to their community in any field. The contribution will demonstrate an active concern for the rights, welfare, well-being and/or the advancement of others. Such a contribution could have been made to the general community, community groups, or individuals within the community. A person may be considered who has displayed an act of compassion, generosity or bravery.

Nominate here: https://innerwest.smartygrants.com.au/CitizenOfTheYear2019Nomination

Late applications and those which do not meet the entry criteria (including completion of entry form) will not be able to be accepted.

2018 Citizen, Young Citizen and Senior Citizen of the Year

Inner West Council Citizen of the Year Award 2018

Newtown’s Sarah Midgley, NSW Co-Convenor of Australian Marriage Equality, is Inner West Council’s 2018 Citizen of the Year.

Since moving to the inner west six years ago, Sarah has spent vast amounts of time volunteering to help LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and questioning) people achieve social inclusion. Her roles include committee member of the world's largest soccer club, the Flying Bats, and committee member of Sydney's Pride History Group.

As NSW Co-Convenor and Director of Australian Marriage Equality, Sarah spent many hours helping at early morning market stalls, running community forums after work and on weekends, rostering, and managing other volunteers.

Inner West Council Young Citizen of the Year Award 2018

Young Citizen of the Year is mental health awareness advocate Anne Maree Hoang.

Anne Maree has openly and honestly shared her mental health journey with those she has come into contact with – whether family, friends, peers or the public. Her volunteer work with the national youth mental health foundation ‘headspace’ has assisted in raising awareness of mental health generally, and among culturally and linguistically diverse communities in particular.

Inner West Council Senior Citizen of the Year Award 2018

Bundjalung-Munajali woman Euphemia Bostock is the Inner West Council's Senior Citizen of the Year.

As a founding member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative (she designed the Boomalli logo), Euphemia has worked across a variety of media including textile, sculpture and printmaking, and tirelessly promoted the work and improved the lifestyle of Aboriginal artists across Australia for more than 50 years.

Euphemia - and her brothers Lester and Gerald - were founding members of Sydney’s Aboriginal Black Theatre in 1972.