Published Thursday 25 February 2016 at 11:57
A Blackburn with Darwen faith leader will be recognised for his work in bringing people together at a special celebration this week.
Derek Estill will become the first recipient of the Council Leader Award created by community group One Voice.
The award acknowledges people that have promoted community cohesion through leadership and is chosen by the leader of the Council.
Derek will receive his award this Saturday at the One Voice Annual Awards Dinner.
Councillor Mohammed Khan, Leader of the Council, will present it to him.
Derek was a founding member of the Blackburn with Darwen Interfaith Forum in 1999. He served the organisation as its Chair and is currently a Trustee and the Secretary.
The aim of his Interfaith work has been and is to enable people of Faith, and no Faith to get to know and respect each other, to break down barriers and find ways of doing things together to help build up good community relationships.
He has worked closely with schools and other community groups and directly with young people.
Derek said:
Good community relationships are so important to us all. They help us create a strong respectful and resilient society and therefore it is worth us all going that extra mile to get to know and value each other.
Councillor Khan said:
Derek is a worthy winner of this award. He has done much good work over the years to promote community cohesion. He has led efforts to build bridges between different communities.
Abrar Hussain, Chair of One Voice, said:
We are delighted to present a new award at this year’s Annual Dinner. The Mohammed Khan Leadership Award reflects an individual who has been exceptionally active and strongly involved in the local community. This award is an acknowledgement of their extraordinary work.