Posts

Asian Achievers Awards 2024

On 27 September, the 22nd Asian Achievers Awards took place at a glittering ceremony in London. The Awards brought together over 500 distinguished guests from around the world to celebrate the outstanding contributions of leading South Asians in the UK. Hosted by former Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra OBE and ITV newsreader Anila Dhami, the evening was a celebration of the exceptional achievements within the British Asian community.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “British Asians are a driving force behind much of the social, cultural, and economic innovation we see in Britain today. You represent so many of the values that help our communities thrive — ambition, hard work, and inclusivity, to name just a few. This is why it is wonderful to see so many British Asian change-makers being recognised tonight by the team at EPG.”

Among the winners were Leicester City footballer Hamza Choudhury, GP specialising in women’s health Dr. Nighat Arif, the founder of the Indian street food chain Chaiiwalas, and the founder of the largest distributor of car parts in Europe Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia. Former Member of Parliament Virendra Sharma was recognised for his over 50 years in public service and given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

I had my own Oscar moment and had the honour of announcing the winner of the Arts and Culture, which went to the fusion sound duo, Abi Sampa and Rushil Ranjan.

The evening saw electric performances from British Asian music pioneer Juggy D and Edinburgh Fringe Festival winner, stand-up comedian Ahir Shah.

 

Bhavik Haria Brought The House Down At The Nehru Centre

 

On 5 June we brought the house down at the Nehru Centre when international musician, Bhavik Haria performed music from his new album, Sama. It was an evening of celebration where just over 130 people from different walks of life came together to hear Bhajan music. This was the largest audience for the Nehru Centre this year. The Deputy High Commissioner, Sujit Ghosh attended along with Mark Hoda, Chairman of the Gandhi Foundation.

 

For some people, it was their first time listening to this ancient genre of music from India, and were enthralled. Bhajan music focuses on uplifting and bringing people together, and Bhavik’s music is a contemporary sound of Bhajan music. On the night Bhavik performed songs from the album with talented musicians that included a tabla player, a saxophonist, and a violinist, bringing traditional Indian and Western instruments together. Sama is part of Bhavik’s mission to #KeepBhajansAlive which he successfully started in 2020. To help further his campaign, the album has a QR code that gives an English transliteration of the lyrics from Hindi.

Sama has been produced by Kaykay Chauhan with lyrics by Ajay Chandaran and released on 30 May. It is an initiative supported by the Arts Council England. On the night Hedley Swain, CEO of the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust, Brighton & Hove said, “It has been a pleasure to see Bhavik’s music evolve and mature. He is a real talent. It is so important that music from different faiths and traditions are being heard in the UK and contributing to its rich creativity”.

Sama is an album two years in the making and is a UK-India production, where the music includes celebrated musicians from the UK and India. The album takes the listener on a soulful journey of transformation, transcending religious labels. It explores gratitude, compassion, and the liberating power of forgiveness, important reflections in today’s troubled world. Both Bhavik and Sama have earned high media praise and this feature in Asian Voice newspaper is one of our favourites.

There Is Nothing Like The Royal Air Force

 

I have to say since I founded Serendipity PR and Media, I have had the privilege to meet some inspiring people, attend great gatherings, international travel for client work, speak at events featuring great minds…and I think on Friday 18 March, is one of my best moments. As you can see here, I was delighted to have been photographed with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the Women in Conversation (WiC) event that I was moderating for Asian Voice newspaper.

It was the first WiC event, after a two-year hiatus due to the global pandemic, and there is a lot of time to make up for, as since 2019 the work on equal pay for equal work or for more diversity of the boards of companies has been stalled. This WiC event was back, bigger and bolder, with a strong panel that included acclaimed British singer songwriter, Rumer; award winning celebrity jeweller, Sam Ubhi, and Sahera Chohan, a business coach who was a TV presenter. We also heard from Group Captain Joanne Swainston, who spoke about some of the strides that have been made in the RAF towards diversity and inclusion.

The conversation we had struck a chord with the audience, and you always know it is a good event when the questions keep coming.

I think I also need to mention that having the RAF associated with the event was tremendously special. When I mentioned to people prior to the event that the RAF were supporting it, people were immediately in awe and impressed. It reinforced the idea to me how respected, trusted and loved the RAF is to many. Especially in this day and age, when sadly there are few organisations that we can truly say that we trust and hold in high-regard…but the RAF is one such institution.

Asian Giants

 

What a thrill to be included in this year’s Asian Giants, a publication that recognises British Asian women of influence who are making a difference; which is produced by Asian Voice newspaper/Asian Business Publications.

It’s empowering to be alongside these talented women. In my story I mention my mum, who ran her own business in the late 70’s. At that time when my mum opened her wool shop in North London, people came in to tell her that they would not buy from her because she was not white and they did not like Indians. Needless to say my mum won them over, becoming their trusted confidante where all her customers would confide in her. Where at Christmas time they would come to the shop for sherry and mince pies.

My mum taught me to be creative, trust my instincts and not to give up, because you can make change.

Mayor of London At The Asian Voice Charity Awards

Last month Asian Voice newspaper held its annual Charity Awards at the Hilton, Park Lane, which is in its fourth year. The media title co-hosts these Awards with Charity Clarity, where together they actively support organisations seeking to solve social issues within Britain and globally.

The Awards showcase excellence; shining a spotlight on charities struggling to get the profile and/or funding that they need to move forward.

This year the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan was the chief guest and spoke about London’s great diversity, which is the Capital’s strength. The theme of this year’s awards was focused on combating knife crime, an issue that has dominated the Mayor’s agenda, who awarded the Editor’s Choice Award to the Damilola Taylor Trust, who provides inner-city youths in Britain with opportunities to play and learn, free from fear and violence.

The Mayor touched upon the serious issue of increasing knife crimes in London and how charities play a big role in tackling these violent crimes. He said, “While I am convinced London is the best city in the world, I am also not blind to the reality of the problems of this city and charities have an important role to play in filling in the gaps in the social safety net in recent years. Violent crime is on the rise across the country, including in London. As Mayor, I am determined to lead from the front when it comes to tackling this issue.”

The Charity of the Year award went to Watford-based Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, an independent medical charity working to improve the lives of people affected by cancer and other severe medical conditions. The Social Impact Award was presented to Child Rescue Nepal, which works on the ground to free children from slavery and captivity. While the Most Enterprising Award went to Medical Aid Films; it brings together health experts with filmmakers. Leah Chowdhry was named the Most Inspiring Young Person for becoming the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel to raise funds to combat child trafficking in India.

The Sarvam Trust, which facilitates and supports the work of the Sri Aurobindo Society to help the under-privileged in rural areas of India, was the winner of the Audience Choice Award.

The Outstanding PR Award went to the Oscar Foundation, who encourage leadership, teamwork and education in schools to help prevent young people from dropping out.

Former journalist Rupert Morris moderated a discussion with an eminent panel who were – philanthropist Lord Rumi Verjee CBE; BAFTA winner Dr Carrie Grant; founder of The Media Trust Caroline Diehl MBE; and Andy Cook, CEO of the Centre for Social Justice. Together they shared their motivations for giving and civic engagement; emphasizing the importance of charity.

I was pleased to have been able to support this occasion by helping to put the above panel together and invite some of the high-profile guests who attended, who also presented the awards. It was an inspiring event and leave you this last thought from Lord Verjee who said on the night, “I am an immigrant in this country. We strive to be successful, and it is natural to give back to the society. In my life what I have realised is the more you give, the more you get back.”

 

Last Month’s India Britain Trade Expo, Makes The News

Last month’s India Britain Trade Expo that took place at the Queen Elizabeth Centre was a hub of conversations, exchange of ideas and strong connections; and we were delighted to receive this coverage the next day in Asian Voice newspaper featured here. The bottom line from the Expo is that India is an important trading partner for the UK and there’s a lot of opportunities to explore. Businesses here and in India are ready to trade!

We were pleased to have not just our Deputy Mayor, Rajesh Agrawal at the event, but also Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and one of the most influential women in politics right now.

The ‘women in business’ session that I moderated with four other women – Penny Power, OBE; Kamel Hothi, OBE, Dr. Priya Virmani; and Shanu Hindhuja was powerful. Each of the panellists spoke about their own journey and experience. They were all exceptional storytellers, which is why this session was so powerful. Stories have the power to engage us, connect with us and inspire us. There is nothing like a good story.

One of the main points that all the panelists agreed upon and spoke about in detail – is that men are integral to the conversations to end gender inequality — and to do that we need everyone to be involved. This is the same premise of the “HeForShe” campaign launched by the United Nations in 2014 by the actress Emma Watson, who said at the time, “We want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality. And we don’t just want to talk about it, but make sure it is tangible.”

Image Credit: Asian Voice, Newspaper

Public Relations Has Not Escaped Artificial Intelligence

 

 

I remember watching the film, Minority Reports in the cinema and at that time having goosebumps with what the future may hold for us, with technology. That film was 17 years ago and fast-forward on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here. Now when we look across various industries, AI advancements continue to surge. In the consumer sector, Apple introduced its HomePod  to compete with Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home AI assistants. While, SephoraEstee Lauder and other retailers have refined the use of chatbots to engage and interact with customers rather than just talking.

My industry, PR has not escaped this wave of AI innovation and machine learning is already in common use for everyday PR tasks like developing media lists and researching. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations Artificial Intelligence panel has published new research revealing the impact of technology, and specifically AI, on public relations practice. It predicts the impact on skills in the profession in the next five years. The report found that 12% of a public relations practitioner’s total skills (out of 52 skills) could be complemented or replaced by AI today, with a prediction that this could climb to 38% within five years. Fundamental human traits such as empathy, trust, humour and relationship building can’t be automated.

There’s been quite a bit of conversation about communications content ultimately being replaced by robot writers and automation, but for now these tools are not threatening our roles as PR professionals, because effective public relations and storytelling require emotional intelligence in addition to human trust. The best kind of PR cultivates relationships among three parties: brands, customers and the media.

However, as the key to this is for now…Picking up on this topic Asian Voice newspaper, the UK’s and Europe’s leading newspaper for the British Asian community contacted me for my thoughts, which are here http://: https://www.asian-voice.com/News/UK/Meet-the-new-%27RoboReporters%27-as-your-news-anchors