The Jodi Mattes Trust

The Jodi Awards are run by the Jodi Mattes Trust (UK registered charity, 1125697), whose charitable objects are:

To advance the education of the public in the arts in particular but not exclusively through the promotion of equal access for disabled people to culture and the creative arts through digital technology by:

(i) raising awareness of the barriers to the experience of cultural and creative life;

(ii) promoting best practice in the cultural and creative industries;

(iii) developing new approaches within cultural and creative organisations to using design, communication and interpretation in the service of accessible experiences.

The trustees are:

Matthew Cock, Head of Web, The British Museum (chair)

Ross Parry, Senior Lecturer / Programme Director - Digital Heritage, Department of Museum Studies Leicester University (treasurer)

Jon Pratty, arts journalist and digital publishing consultant (secretary)

Origins of the Awards

The awards were set up by the Museums Computer Group in 2002. The first award was announced at an RNIB conference in 2003. The judging panel included Fiona Marshall, who had been Jodi’s line manager at the British Museum, Marcus Weisen and Nick Poole, who were then working for MLA.

Marcus Weisen has managed the Awards since 2003, firstly as part of his role in MLA and now as an independent consultant. The current trustees of the Jodi Mattes Trust formed the Jodi Awards Committee in 2006.

At first the Awards were limited to England. The Awards were extended to Wales in 2006, when CyMAL became a supporting organisation. Thanks to the support of Museums Galleries Scotland, Scottish Libraries and Information Council and the Scottish Archive Network, museums, libraries and archives in Scotland are eligible for the 2008 Jodi Awards.