Asian Women of Achievement Awards Celebrates 10 Years
(20 February 2009)

The search to find the most inspiring women in the United Kingdom has begun with the launch of the 10th Asian Women of Achievement Awards. Founded and chaired by Indian born author and entrepreneur Pinky Lilani OBE, the awards celebrate the contribution that Asian women make to UK's business, public, cultural, and political sectors. Previous accolades have been awarded to actresses Shaheen Khan and Nina Wadia, BBC newsreader Mishal Husain and world-leading academic Professor Xiangqian Jang.

This year's judges includes human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti CBE, also an award recipient, Dragons Den star James Caan, actress Meera Syal and Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross among others.

Pinky Lilani said: "We founded these awards in 1999 to recognise the contribution that Asian women were making to British life - a celebration of the cultural and social enrichment they provide. Over the last 10 years, they've become both a barometer of social change and an important platform for Asian women. "This year, we're casting the net far and wide to identify those women who - through their passion and commitment - symbolise today's diverse society."

The closing date for entries is Friday March 6, 2009, with the awards ceremony taking place at the London Hilton on Wednesday May 20, 2009. 2. The full list of categories is as follows:

- Professional of the Year
- Young Achiever of the Year
- The Arts & Culture Award
- The Public Sector Award
- The Social & Humanitarian Award
- The Business Woman of the Year- Corporate
- Entrepreneur of the Year
- Media Professional of the Year
- The Lloyds TSB AWA Award

A woman is eligible to enter the Asian Women of Achievement Awards if; she is resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man and has been so for a period of 12 months before the date of application; if she was born on the continent of Asia; or if she is born into an ethnic group or had at least two grandparents born into an ethnic group or groups, of Asian origin other than Caucasian.

For all purposes above, 'Asia' is defined as meaning:

[1] any part of the national territory of a country with national territory on the African-Eurasian land mass, excluding Europe and Africa. The boundary with Europe is taken to be the most direct line connecting the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora, the Bosphorus, the Black Sea, the ridges of the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, to Novaya Zemlya. The boundary with Africa is taken to be the line of the Suez Canal. and
[2] the national territories of Bahrain, Brunei, Cyprus, East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Philippines, the Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.
[3] Any dispute over eligibility shall, at the discretion of the competition organisers, be referred to an independent panel of three arbiters, one of whom shall be legally qualified in England and Wales. The arbiters' decision will be final.

For information on how to enter the awards visit: www.awaawards.com