The Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) is proud to present the 2026 Vic Willi Award for Youth, granted to a young disabled person showing leadership in disability activism and disability rights. This award is presented annually as part of CILT’s commitment to honouring Vic Willi and supporting the development of young disabled leaders in Canada.
Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible:
- Be 16 to 29 years of age
- Identify as a person with physical, sensory, mental health related and/or cognitive disability
- Be making a difference by challenging assumptions about disability, demonstrating community leadership, or showing emerging leadership in disability activism and disability rights
- Be impacting key areas of life with a disability, such as transportation, accessibility, education, housing, services, and community integration
The award recipient will receive:
- A cash prize of $1,000
- An opportunity to have their work and contributions showcased on CILT’s website and social media channels
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: September 1, 2026
To apply:
- Submit an email to cilt@cilt.ca with the following:
- Your full name
- Your address
- Your Phone number
- Your email address
- Link or attachment to your personal essay or video
- The personal essay or video should demonstrate:
- What you been doing or plan to do relevant to the criteria above
- Why and how the award will help increase your leadership skills or knowledge within the disability community
- How the award funding would support your leadership endeavours
- Applications can be self-nominations or submitted by another person, in which case the nominator must provide a letter of reference
For any accommodation requests, please email cilt@cilt.ca or call 416-599-2458.The award will be presented during CILT’s AGM on September 25, 2026.
To learn more about the history of this award and Vic Willi, the CILT visionary and leader for whom the award is named, please visit the Vic Willi Award for Youth page.
We encourage applications from disabled people who are also Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, 2-Spirit, LGBTQ+, Immigrants and Refugees, people living in poverty, unhoused, underhoused people and anyone else from communities experiencing systemic barriers.
Support CILT’s efforts promoting the Independent Living philosophy and our goal of facilitating the socio-economic equity of persons with disabilities by becoming a CILT member.
