Article appeared in The Philip Lawrence Awards Magazine 2005

Hi, my name is Semina Ali and my group Ekta won a Philip Lawrence Award in 2004. Winning the award has given our group national recognition, which has helped draw attention to the issues that the group is concerned with such as how to build a cohesive community while addressing racial issues.

The group since winning the award has engaged in many activities and projects, one of the major events being the local carnival in the summer of 2005. It has been an extremely exciting experience as from winning the award I have had the opportunity to attend a reception at Number 10 Downing Street and meet Tony Blair. I have had an opportunity to judge this year’s entrants and was on the final judging panel with Sir Trevor McDonald and other members of the board. It is an experience I will not be forgetting and it is due to Ekta and the Philip Lawrence Awards that this has taken place and enabled me to meet some wonderful and exciting people. By bringing together other youth groups at an event such as the Philip Lawrence Awards, it made us realize that it is not just Ekta members that make a difference in life – we all do!