Winners announced at the Community Integration Awards 2021 Ceremony: recognising community responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Thursday 28th January guests from all across the UK tuned in to celebrate the incredible achievements of projects working on the community level that have brought people together to support one another through the Covid-19 Pandemic. There were winning and commended projects from across London, Coventry, Hull, Leeds, Birmingham and Derry.
The MigrationWork Trust hosted a virtual awards ceremony which showcased inspirational work of projects up and down the country, bringing hope to their communities, meeting the extraordinary need in their localities and also forging new connections. Kim Leadbeater MBE, delivered the keynote speech and moving tribute to her sister Jo Cox. Kim congratulated the projects: “Each and every nominee should be extremely proud of their achievements – they represent the best of humanity and I am in awe of their incredible work”.
The guests also enjoyed a fascinating live Q&A with Steve Chandra Savale from the Asian Dub Foundation about the success of their recent track ‘Comin over here’, the band’s collaboration with comedian Stewart Lee and the power of music and the arts to give expression to human experience in the most challenging times.
The real highlight of the evening were the announcements of the winners for the three award categories:
Mamajay Juliet, Founder of Pamoja Music UK, Winner of Connecting Communities award, said:
“I am absolutely thrilled to receive the award in this category, it means everything to myself and the project. It proves that bringing diversity into the mainstream environment can be achieved by creating a platform where people can get together, to share and showcase their cultures.”
Halaleh Taheri, Founder and Executive Director of Middle Eastern Women & Society Organisation (MEWSo), Winner of Equality, Access and Rights award, said:
“MEWSo is built on the values of secularism, solidarity and social justice. We hope, one day, for a society where diversity will be considered a strength and not a reason for division.”
Ali Alzein, Founder of Bees & Refugees, Winner of Safety For All award, said:
”Receiving an award like this is so motivating and encouraging but meeting like-minded individuals was for sure the most positive thing about it”
Eight projects were also awarded commendations by the judging panels:
Connecting Communities category
Welcome House, Hull
Xenia, London
Safety For All category
Sing For Freedom Choir, London
Create & Express, Hull
Delta Alpha Delta, Leeds
Equality Access & Rights category
Birmingham Refugee and Asylum Seeker Solidarity (BRASS), Birmingham
Migrants At Work, Birmingham and UK wide
North West Migrants Forum (NWMF), Derry/ Londonderry
Read about the commended project: www.integrationawards.uk/commendations-2021/
