The Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO) celebrated its tenth anniversary in style on Wednesday 21st October 2009 at No 1 George Street, Westminster. The keynote speech, given by Lord Navnit Dholakia OBE DL, congratulated the organisation for tackling inequalities and strengthening minority ethnic communities in Britain today. Trevor Barnes of BBC Radio introduced other speakers including: Hasmukh Pankhania, Chief Executive of CEMVO, Baroness Sandip Verma, Anil Bhanot CEMVO Board Member and Shaynul Khan from the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel. Guests were treated to a sumptuous meal and entertained by Kouyate Kadialy, a Senegalese Kora Player and Ramon Ruiz, a Spanish guitar player.

About CEMVO

The Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO) is a registered charity established in 1999. CEMVO is committed to extending opportunities to people from the most disadvantaged communities in the UK. It strengthens the community by providing a voice for Britain's minority ethnic voluntary & community sector; building the capacity of community based organisations, securing assets for the community, formulating policies and conducting research, promoting volunteering and providing training & consultancy services.

CEMVO has a national database of over 2000 community and voluntary sector organisations to which it has delivered capacity building programs. CEMVO has raised £20 million for groups that it has supported in the last 10 years. CEMVO has offices in London, Manchester, Bristol, Wales and Scotland.