The National Diversity Awards is an awards ceremony which honours positive role models, entrepreneurs and community organisations across several different strands within the equality and diversity sector. It is held annually in various venues across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Founded by CEO, Paul Sesay, the National Diversity Awards launched in 2012. The National Diversity Awards 2019 took place at The Anglican Cathedral in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 20 September 2019.

Award strands and categories

The awards are honoured to individuals, charities and community organisations across five different strands: Age; Disability; Gender; LGBT; and Race, Faith and Religion. The National Diversity Award categories include the Positive Role Model Award, the Community Organisation award, the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award, the Diverse Company award and Lifetime Achiever award. Both the Positive Role Model Award and the Community Organisation Award are split into 5 individual categories, each representing an individual strand of diversity including Age, Disability, Gender, LGBT, Race/Faith/Religion. The Community Organisation category also has an additional multi-strand award. The Entrepreneur of Excellence award "recognises individuals who have best demonstrated managerial expertise in assembling resources, creating an organisation, decision making under uncertainty, being forward looking, and creatively solving problems." In addition to this, the Diverse Company award is an individual honour which recognises a company’s commitment to encouraging "people from the most deprived areas to further their careers" The prestigious Lifetime Achiever award recognises a person’s "significant, innovative and cumulatively outstanding contributions to enhancing the practice of equality and diversity, devoting a major portion of their professional career to the cause."

Nominations and judges

Nominations for the National Diversity Awards typically run between February and June of each year, with the awards being held annually in September. The National Diversity Awards are judged each year by esteemed and highly experienced diversity professionals across the United Kingdom. Judges include Carol Jordan Head of Planning at ITV News, Manisha Mehrotra of Bloomberg LP, Former international Paralympian Ade Adepitan, Comedian and TV Presenter Alex Brooker, Writer, Director & Actor Jake Graf, and Writer, Activist and TV Presenter Katie Piper. Judges participate in an annual evaluation of all nominees with their shortlist being announced in July and their official award category winners being announced annually at the National Diversity Awards ceremony.

Hosts

2012 saw the launch of the National Diversity Awards and was hosted by Irish television presenter and winner of the second series of Big Brother, Brian Dowling. In 2013, Dowling was invited back to host the awards and was joined by co-host and

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

presenter,

Cerrie Burnell Claire "Cerrie" Burnell (born 30 August 1979) is an English actress, singer, playwright, children's author, and former television presenter for the BBC children's channel CBeebies. In 2018, she portrayed the role of Penny Stevenson in the BBC s ...

, who was previously a celebrity patron of the event in 2012. Dowling and Burnell were the official hosts of the National Diversity Awards 2014. In 2015, Dowling was invited to yet again host the awards and was joined by co-host and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

presenter,

Charlene White Charlene Denise White (born 22 June 1980) is a British television broadcaster, journalist and presenter, best known for presenting ''ITV News'' programmes. She has been an anchor on ''Loose Women'' since 2021The Midland Hotel in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

on 21 September 2012, before moving to The Queens Hotel in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on 20 September 2013. The Awards were then taken to the city's capital where the 2014 ceremony was held in The Hurlingham Club in London on 26 September. The National Diversity Awards 2015 took place in The Anglican Cathedral in

on 18 September.

Celebrity patrons

Since its launch in 2012, the National Diversity Awards has attracted support from several celebrity patrons who either represent or support the equality and diversity sector. Amongst the National Diversity Awards celebrity patrons are contemporary R&B and hip hop artist,

Misha B Misha Amber Bryan (born 10 February 1992), known by her stage name Misha B, is a British singer. She rose to notability as a finalist on the eighth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2011, where she finished in fourth place. Several sources have no ...

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey ...

; wheelchair Paralympic Quad double Gold medallist, Peter Norfolk OBE; Paralympic Gold medallist, cyclist and former swimmer,

Jody Cundy Jody Alan Cundy, (born 14 October 1978) is an English cyclist and former swimmer. He has represented Great Britain at seven Summer Paralympics winning eight Gold, one Silver and three Bronze medals across swimming and cycling events. He has ...

; Paralympian volleyball player, Claire Harvey; stars of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

television documentary,

My Transsexual Summer ''My Transsexual Summer'' is a British List of reality television programs#Documentary style, documentary-style reality series about seven transgender people in different stages of Transitioning (transgender), transition. For five weekends in t ...

, Drew-Ashlyn Cunningham and Lewis Hancox; and transsexual beauty queen, Jackie Green. Television presenter

was also a celebrity patron of the National Diversity Awards before taking on co-hosting duties with Brian Dowling in 2013.

Celebrity endorsers

The National Diversity Awards has received a number of endorsements from celebrities across the

, including

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, who said: "The UK is becoming more and more diverse. It is valuable that a national event is being held to celebrate our differences. Even now in today’s modern society we are still tackling issues of prejudice and discrimination so it is important to come together and focus on those who have demonstrated an outstanding work ethic in order to enhance equality, diversity and inclusion. I am sure The National Diversity Awards will have nothing but a positive outcome for years to come, I wish the event every success." R&B and soul singer,

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

, is also an endorser of The National Diversity Awards, who supported the event by saying, "I love the idea that there is an awards ceremony that celebrates our differences and their positive effect on all our lives." Other celebrities to give public backing towards the National Diversity Awards include

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...

Katie Piper Kate Elizabeth Sutton (née Piper; born 12 October 1983) is an English writer, activist, television presenter and model from Andover, Hampshire. In March 2008, she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend and an accomplice, causing major da ...

Trevor Nelson Trevor Ricardo Nelson, MBE (born 7 January 1964) is an English DJ and presenter. Early life Born in the London Borough of Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, Nelson attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School (now known as Central ...

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

, Gareth Thomas,

Javine Hylton Javine Dionne Hylton (born 27 December 1981), often known simply as Javine, is an English singer and songwriter. She represented the UK at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv with "Touch My Fire". Hylton has also had a string of singles in ...

Gina Yashere Regina Obedapo "Gina" Iyashere is a British comedian who has made many appearances on British and American television. Early life Yashere was born and raised in Bethnal Green London to Nigerian parents. Before becoming a comedian, she worked ...

Saira Choudhry Saira Choudhry is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Saira in BBC's ''Life'', Naila in ITV's ''Coronation Street'' and Anita Roy in ''Hollyoaks'' and Tegan in Paul Abbott's ''No Offence''. Early life Saira Choudhry was born in ...

Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show ''Fame Academy'', he was later signed to Sony BMG ...

Ross Adams Ross Adams is an English actor. He plays the role of Scott Drinkwell in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' and previously played the role of Jeff Bowyer in the BBC Three sitcom '' The Gemma Factor''. Life and career Adams moved to Manchest ...

Philip Olivier Philip Lawrence Borg-Olivier (born on 4 June 1980) is a British actor, model and stage performer best known for playing the role of Tim "Tinhead" O'Leary in the soap opera ''Brookside''. Career Olivier's first role was in 1995 in the Channe ...

Tessa Sanderson Theresa Ione Sanderson (born 14 March 1956) is a British former javelin thrower. She appeared in every Summer Olympics from 1976 to 1996, winning the gold medal in the javelin throw at the 1984 Olympics. She was the second track and field ...

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is a British former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 19 ...

Ade Adepitan Adedoyin Olayiwola "Ade" Adepitan (born 27 March 1973) is a Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. As a presenter, he has hosted a range of travel documentaries and sports programmes for BBC television. Ade ...

Danny Crates Daniel Brian Crates (born 9 February 1973) is a British former athlete, who specialised in 800m Sprint (running), sprinting. He is a former Paralympic world record holder in this event, and won gold medals in a number of international competiti ...

Karen Darke Karen Darke, , FRSGS (born 25 June 1971) is a British paralympic cyclist, paratriathlete, adventurer and author. She competed at the 2016 Rio Paralympics winning Gold in the Women's road time trial, following her success in the 2012 London Para ...

Sarah Storey Dame Sarah Joanne Storey, (née Bailey; born 26 October 1977) is a British Paralympic athlete in cycling and swimming, and a multiple gold medalist in the Paralympic Games, and six times British (able-bodied) national track champion (2 × Purs ...

Barney Storey Richard Barnaby "Barney" Storey MBE (born 13 March 1977) is a British cyclist. He rides as a sighted pilot for blind or partially sighted athletes in tandem track cycling events. He competed at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games and won ...

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...

Tom Daley Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Ashley Walters, Letitia Hector,

Alex Beresford Alexander Isaac Beresford (born 17 October 1980) is an English weather presenter employed by ITV.

and Amal Fashanu.

Sponsors, media Sponsors and associates

The National Diversity Awards has been supported by current headline sponsor,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

, since its launch in 2012. Other organisations to have supported the National Diversity Awards through sponsorship include The Diversity Group, I Spoil U Media,

Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank w ...

, MI5 Security Service, Penna plc, The Army,

PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

, London School of Academics,

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...

Mouchel Mouchel Group was an infrastructure and business services company headquartered in Woking, United Kingdom. It provided advisory, design, project delivery and managed services associated with infrastructure and business services across the high ...

Kier Group Kier Group plc is a British construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, and the Private Finance Initiative. Founded in 1928 in Stoke-on-Trent it initially specialised in concrete enginee ...

Financial Ombudsman Service The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based bus ...

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, Transport for London, ThoughtWorks, Riverside Housing, Easy Internet Solutions, Veredus, PSS, Cardiff School of Education,

Merseyside Police Authority Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police of ...

, The Co-Operative, Sky, The Excellence in Diversity Awards and Q Hotels. The Awards have also been supported through several media sponsors including

Gaydio Gaydio is a radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) people in the United Kingdom, broadcast on 88.4 FM in Greater Manchester, on DAB digital radio in Greater London, parts of the Home Counties, Manchester, Brigh ...

Gay Star News ''Gay Star News'' (''GSN'') is a news website focused on events related to and concerning the global LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) community. Headquartered in the UK, it is privately owned and was founded by Tris Reid-Sm ...

, The Voice (newspaper), Asian Lite,

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

and Able Magazine. Associates and judges of the Awards have included Platform 51, The Fawcett Society,

Runnymede Trust The Runnymede Trust is a race equality think tank in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1968 by Jim Rose and Anthony Lester as an independent source for generating intelligence for a multi-ethnic Britain through research, network building, ...

DIVA Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

, ENEI and Disability Rights UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Diversity Awards Awards established in 2012