The National Diversity Awards ceremony, which was live streamed has been described as the ‘golden globes of the diversity world’ among attendees. In addition to real life diversity heroes, a number of special guests made an appearance at the UK’s largest diversity awards to show their support for the incredible nominees who have changed the lives of many.
Congratulations to all the 2020 winners of National Diversity Awards.
- The first award of the night went to 15 year old TikTok star Isabella Evans who has made quite the impression online teaching people sign language, one sign at a time.
- Zack Kerr was next to receive an award in the positive role model category campaigning tirelessly for disabled facilities at service stations across the UK.
- Award winning cyber security consultant Lisa Ventura was gifted with the gender accolade for working ferociously to challenge injustice when it comes to the gender pay gap and the cyber skills gap for women.
- Metropolitan Police Officer Laks Mann was named LGBT role model of the year for raising awareness and understanding, as well as increasing visibility of the UK’s South Asian queer community.
- Earth Scientist Dr Anjana Khatwa was awarded the positive role model for race, faith and religion for bringing stories about the origins and formation of natural landscapes to life for a wide range of audiences
Entrepreneur of Excellence Award
- Gavin Neate scooped the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award for transforming the way in which customer-facing businesses serve disabled people through technology.
Diverse Company Award
- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust were presented with the Diverse Company Award
Celebrity of the Year Award
- Leigh-Anne Pinnock was the recipient of the Celebrity of the Year Award for her ongoing commitment to tackling race discrimination across the media industry. The singing sensation was unable to attend the ceremony in person due to the recent arrival of twins
Lifetime Achiever Award
- Director of Operation Black Vote (OBV) Lord Simon Woolley CBE received the prestigious lifetime achiever award with a list of tremendous achievements recognised by judges, including transforming our political and civic institutions.
Community Organisation Awards
- Parent-led charity Skylarks accepted the Community Organisation Award for supporting over 4000 children and young people with disabilities.
- Wouldn’t Change a Thing were commended for modernising mainstream perceptions of Down Syndrome
- Us Programme were applauded for working with young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds who need society’s help the most.
- GYRO – the Young Person’s Advisory Service were hailed for supporting LGBTQ+ children and young people across Merseyside.
- Black Health Initiative (BHI) beat seven other competitors for addressing inequalities and inequities in Education, Health and Social Care
- The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety emerged as winners of the Multi-Strand category for helping over 6,500 individuals to make significant changes to their lives through personal safety, conflict resolution and practical self defence training.