Fusion Awards announces finalists - I'm nominated for man of the year!!!

UNSUNG heroes who have contributed to their communities in the north west will be recognised at the Fusion Awards 2008 this weekend.

The finalist have been announced for the sold-out event which will take place this Saturday at the Premier Suite, Ewood Park, Blackburn.

As well as the awards ceremony, entertainment will also be provided. This will include a catwalk show featuring some of the north’s top designers and performances from top comedienne Shazia Mirza and Bollywood dance group Imagine Asian.

The finalists are as follows:

Community group of the year

Youth in Action (Preston), a voluntary group set up by and for young people. Helping younger people to focus on studying and personal development, Youth in Action has 10 young board members and works with over 100 young people in the inner-city Frenchwood and Avenham areas of Preston.

Building Bridges Pendle (Nelson), producing Community Cohesion Education Programmes for local primary and secondary schools as well as inter-faith seminars, peace vigils, community forums and joint projects between places of worship from different faiths.

Behna Group (Great Harwood), helping advance women’s education through informal training for women aged 20 to 60 in a friendly environment, with all board members using their free time and relying on very little funding

Brookhouse Community Action Team (Blackburn), raising awareness of vital health issues among young people, including designing the first-ever testicular cancer toolkit which will be distributed through Macmillan Cancer Research

Our Independence (Altrincham), a group helping disabled people make new friends, set up by Renu Duggal after she suffered a stroke and lost the use of one side of her body. The group meets weekly and all activities are offered free of charge.

Community Cohesion Award

Omar Khan (Preston), Omar's group works closely with disaffected young people in the Fishwick, Callon and Deepdale wards of Preston, with an emphasis on diversionary activities to keep youth away from gang culture and gun crime. Omar often works in his own free time, and has used his own money when funding has dried up.

Bolton Interfaith Council, whose activities include the discussion and resolution of issues, an ongoing events programme and other awareness-raising activities working towards raising trust and understanding between the faith communities in Bolton.

Father Phillip Sumner (Oldham). Admired by so many people from all backgrounds, responsible for very successful grass roots inter-faith initiatives in the Oldham area after spending 25 years in the Moss Side area of Manchester where he set up the ‘Young, Gifted and Equal’ programme advocating respect for young people’s ethnic and religious identities.

One Extreme to the Other (Oldham), a ground-breaking play by Mike Harris, performed to over 2,500 pupils in Greater Manchester. Developed by Mossley-based GW Theatre Company in partnership with Oldham Council, the play features a Muslim extremist as well as a white extremist group and is now being commissioned for performances across the UK.

Trish Ferrarin and Judy Smith (Blackburn), chair and secretary of the Revidge Community Association to tackle neighbourhood issues including crime, traffic hot spots and litter and to promote inter-community understanding.

The Community Cohesion Award is sponsored by the Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire Constabulary.

Entrepreneur of the year

Kay Gire (Blackburn), founder, Nirvana Centre for Well-Being. Kay left a career in financial services to specialize in the 5,000-year-old emotional freedom technique; she also publishes the international e-zine Bliss.

Penny Virdee (Preston), Style Rooms, a boutique that really breaks the mould in Asian fashion retail, with hand-picked designer labels, a made-to-measure service and eye-catching interior design. Penny also works hard with local charities including Cancer Concern.
Rukshanda Ibrahim (Bolton), personalisemydummy.com. A mother of four, Rukshanda knew at first-hand that children lose dummies constantly, and came up with a unique product – personalized dummies.

Shabnam Naz Khan (Nelson), Maria’s Cash & Carry and Maria’s Farms. Shabnam was the first Asian woman in the North West to run her own cash-and-carry, deciding that business was her true vocation although she’d studied law. Investing in a farm on the outskirts of Colne and employing local people there, Shabnam recently bought a second farm, and is now rearing 400 cattle in total and looking into halal dairy produce.

Public service award

Hena Begum, East Lancashire Children’s Home. Already having been the first Bangladeshi to join Lancashire Constabulary, Hena switched to working as a residential social worker in Lancashire, where she now champions equality and diversity.

Humayun Shouib, National Probation Service. Lancashire-based Humayun has worked for the Service for 16 years, in which time he has negotiated prayer facilities and halal food provision as well as delivering diversity training and establishing a Black and Asian Staff Networking Group.
Sadiq Patel, Blackburn with Darwen Council for Voluntary Service. Sadiq has been providing a critical link for inter-faith dialogue, with both the CVS and with Blackburn Rovers Football Club.
Sheela Solanki, Preston Women’s Refuge. Sheela, a Youth Offending Team Officer working in Blackpool, is volunteer chair of the management committee at Preston Women’s Refuge, a drop-in centre with a 24-hour staffed helpline.

Sports personality award, sponsored by Nationwide Leasing

Prabha Halai (Bolton), organizer of the Bend It Like Beckham Project in Bolton which promotes women’s football – and its teamwork and health benefits - among women of all ages and abilities in the local South Asian communities. Prabha’s team have gone from strength to strength and now play in local leagues.

Ferrari Faqiri, winner of 23 karate and tae kwon do medals in the last 12 months. Ferrari already holds two world championships in karate and one in tae kwon do, and aims to be an Olympic champion in London in 2012. Ferrari, who was born 10 weeks prematurely and is an asthma sufferer, also trains young people from the local area at his father’s gym.

Ibrahim Shah (Blackburn), 12-year-old winner of the North West Golden Gloves finals in Manchester earlier this year. The Audley Boxing Club member, Blackburn’s first ever Golden Gloves finalist, was chosen to represent England and he fought in the Three Nations Tournament in Sheffield, clinching gold in his England debut.

Maira Malik (Liverpool), nine-year-old karate black belt and ‘success coach’ to other youngsters. This year Maira was named Under-10s Sports Personality of the Year at the British Asian Sports Awards.

Man of the year

Canon Chris Chivers (Blackburn Cathedral), who has been at the forefront of inter-faith dialogue and initiatives in the area, especially projects helping build bridges between Muslims and Christians.

Muhammed Matadar, a Blackburn-based Premiership official who began as a referee in local community leagues 12 years ago and has now refereed for the Champions League and the UEFA Cup amongst others. Muhammed continues to assist local leagues, including organizing charity tournaments, despite his busy schedule.

Muhammed Shafiq, Rochdale-based head of the Ramadhan Foundation, who has been vocal in helping debunk media misconceptions around Islam and who has spoken widely on issues affecting first-generation British Muslims.

Woman of the year

Feeraz Begum, Brierfield-based founder of Caring Today, a support group for parents of children with disabilities. Herself the mother of a child with multiple disabilities, Feeraz set out to challenge some of the notions about disabilities within the South Asian communities. Caring

Today now has seven full-time staff and 16 sessional workers.

Mussurut Zia, a Blackburn woman who has spent the last 10 years working for community cohesion in her role with Lancashire Constabulary, tirelessly campaigning for women’s rights and against domestic violence, forced marriage and honour killings. Mussurut has written training materials on these subjects for the police, the CPS and voluntary sector organizations.

Fatima Patel, Tay Jiva and Monica Bhagchandani, three Bolton women who set up Ethical Entertainment, an organization involved in community celebrations. The group has strong connections with the Fortalice women’s refuge, for whom they have helped forge meaningful links with women in the South Asian communities.

An Education Achievement Award, sponsored by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), will also be awarded on the night.

Fusion Awards 2008 has been supported by No Limits, Lancashire Constabulary, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Nationwide Vehicle Leasing, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) and Asian Image