CARLTON'S MULTICULTURAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
(22nd October 2002)

The youth shaping modern Britain were recognised for their talents at CARLTON'S MULTICULTURAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, at Ocean in Hackney on Tuesday 22nd October. Asian winners included Asif Kapadia, Indhu Rubasingham, Dr Bela Arora and Mohammed Amran with special recognition for Sir Gulam Noon.

June Sarpong hosted the awards, which saw established faces from entertainment to business join to celebrate and reward the role models of the future. Coronation Street heartthrob Jimmi Harkishin, Babyfather's Wil Johnson, Bombay Dreams lead Preeya Kalidas, EastEnders' Gary Beadle, The Bill's Karl Collins, actor Kwame Kwei-Armah and ex-Premiership footballer John Fashanu were just some of those presenting the awards that celebrate diversity in the UK.

Imaginative and motivated people between the ages of 16 and 35 were nominated in nine categories: Education & Research; Fashion & Design; Film; Music; Performing Arts; Politics & Public Life; Publishing; Sport, and Television & Radio.

Two publicly voted awards were Outstanding Contribution to British Business, and Eastern Eye/New Nation Outstanding Contribution to Community Life. The show will included a tribute to Val McCalla, founder of the Voice in 1982, who died this summer at the age of 57.

Says presenter June Sarpong: "These awards show what this generation is doing and what their capabilities are, and will serve to help the next lot coming through, in that they'll be an inspiration to others. The nominees are all outstanding. Sometimes you need to see people like that - who look like you or are from a similar background and are doing what you want to do - to see what's possible. This event really represents UK talent; it's British people being recognised for their achievements."

AWARD WINNERS & NOMINEES BY CATEGORY

FILM

WINNER - Asif Kapadia, London
Asif is one of the hottest new British-Asian directors whose first feature film, the Warrior, has received great international acclaim.

Parminder Nagra, London
Parminder played the lead in Bend it Like Beckham, a warm comedy about a football-crazy girl who is more interested in playing like Beckham than making aloo gobi.

Minkie Spiro, London
As a writer and director, Minkie brings stories of race and culture to a wide audience. Her work includes Lock up Your Daughters and Bitches and Beauty Queens?

TELEVISION AND RADIO

WINNER - Sonita Alleyne, London
A high profile female media entrepreneur, Sonita co-founded Somethin' Else, one of the UK's most diverse independent radio production companies.

David Harewood, London
Has played numerous TV roles, including Babyfather and The Vice.

Imran Khan, London
TV programmes including The Imran Khan Show and The Hidden Jihad. He has contributed fashion, music, lifestyle, film and current affairs features regularly to a number of publications, from New Musical Express to The Independent, and founded and edited the magazine, Second Generation, two years ago.

MUSIC

WINNER - Ms Dynamite, London
Ms Dynamite, Niomi Daley, is now firmly in the spotlight as a young pop diva.

Tarsame Singh (Taz), Birmingham
Described as a pioneer of pop fusion, a lyricist, composer and producer, 'Taz', of Stereo Nation fame, is one of the world's most successful Asian pop acts.

Asian Dub Foundation
Their forceful presence has helped to demolish many stereotypes of Asian musicians and by extension, Asian people.

SPORT

WINNER - Ashia Hansen, Birmingham
Commonwealth and European gold medal winner in the triple jump.

Rio Ferdinand, Manchester
Originally from London, Rio is the most expensive defender in the history of football after his move from Leeds to Manchester United for around £30 million.

Lewis Hamilton, Hertfordshire
He may be well on his way to becoming the first black Formula 1 driver.

POLITICS & PUBLIC LIFE

WINNER - Mohammed Amran, Bradford
At 26, he is outreach manager for The Prince's Trust, and at 22 was appointed the youngest ever Commissioner for the Commission for Racial Equality.

David Lammy MP, London
Was the youngest qualifying barrister in England in 1994. Following the death of Bernie Grant MP, David was elected MP for Tottenham at the age of 27. He remains the youngest Member of Parliament.

Waheed Saleem, Walsall
Youngest elected councillor in Walsall, and holds a number of national posts, including the National Crime Squad Service Authority.

PUBLISHING

WINNER - Gary Younge, London
Feature writer for the Guardian, writing on social and political issues from the United States, South Africa, Zimbabwe and throughout Europe. He has written a novel, No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the Deep South.

Foluke Akinlose, London
Founder of preciousonline.co.uk, the first website for women of colour in the UK.

Diran Adebayo, London
Diran has worked as a journalist in print and television. Since publishing his award-winning first novel, Some Kind of Black, in 1996, Diran has written for anthologies and radio. His second novel, My Once Upon a Time, is due to be published this year.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH BUSINESS

Sir Gulam Noon, London

Gulam is a figure of great inspiration to many young Asians and a superb mentor to many in the community. At 17, he took over running the small, family-owned sweet shop at Mumbai's famed Crawford Market. He now is chairman and managing director of Noon Products Ltd, the specialists in chilled and frozen ready-to-eat meals. The products combine traditional recipes with advanced technology to produce classical Indian cuisine.

Panels of experts from throughout multicultural Britain were responsible for choosing the winners in nine categories. Members of the public cast their votes for the two outstanding achievement awards via a phone line or the Internet.

EASTERN EYE/NEW NATION OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITY LIFE

Ros Griffiths, Brixton
Ros is director of the Employment Café at Brixton. Its aims are to increase opportunities for those in need of employment of training, particularly those from ethnic minority communities. The café also promotes diversity in the workplace.

TRIBUTE TO VAL McCALLA (1944 to 2002)
From an east London council flat, Val McCalla, who died this summer at the age of 57, started the weekly newspaper, The Voice.

PERFORMING ARTS

WINNER - Indhu Rubasingham, London
Theatre director. Recently associate director of Bombay Dreams.

Josette Bushell-Mingo, London
Artistic director of Push, highlighting the work of black artists in the capital. Patron of Arden School and the Young Vic theatre company, she also acts in various theatre productions.

Roy Williams, London
Playwright, dealing with race-related issues in Britain. He won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Newcomer.

FASHION AND DESIGN

WINNER - Michael Wayne Selman, Croydon, Surrey
Michael was chosen by the King's Trust to redesign Mayday's X-ray department and Mayday's chest department. He also designs one-off bespoke executive chairs, and wants to go into schools to give talks on his industry.

Romero Bryan, Wembley, London
Romero designs and makes clothes from his bedroom in north London. He has been designing from the age of 13, and his designs have been worn by a number of artists, including Victoria Beckham, Destiny's Child, Mya, Usher, Mel B, June Sarpong, Louise Adams, Honeyz and Mis-teeq.

Amrik Chaggar, London
Amrik was a tailor for Gieves & Hawkes in Savile Row, and works for Welsh & Jefferies whilst studying for an MA in fashion textile design. His shows include last year's A World Without Words show at London Fashion Week.

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

WINNER - Dr Bela Arora, Birmingham

A lecturer in International Relations at the University of Warwick and Birmingham Junior Chamber of Commerce president, she has already won an Asian Women of Achievement Award and an Asian Voice award.

Stephanie Ankrah, Ashtead, Surrey
One of the few young, black women scientists in the UK, Stephanie, a sports materials engineer, presented a paper at the 4th International Conference of the Engineering of Sport in Kyoto last month.

Alice James, Crymych, Pembrokeshire
Alice learnt to speak Welsh and has integrated into Welsh village life. She is training to be a secondary school teacher and wants to eventually teach the language.

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