Aleeza Isa from One Voice Blackburn hosts the video announcing the 1V Awards finalists
Published Thursday 4 January 2024 at 11:06
The finalists have been announced for the 1V Awards dinner 2024, to recognise the local people who do amazing things in their communities.
A total of eight awards will be presented at the 1V Awards Dinner, to be held in King George’s Hall, Blackburn on 17th February 2024.
The awards, arranged by local charity One Voice Blackburn, are sponsored by Together Housing and Newground Together, and supported by Blackburn with Darwen Council.
One Voice Blackburn opened the nomination process in September 2023 and received dozens of nominations for each of the six awards that are open for public nomination.
The final shortlist is made up from individuals and organisations with the highest nominations, combined with the quality of nominations.
The Aya Hachem Young Person of the Year award is named after the young student who was tragically murdered in May 2020. The Award is sponsored by Blackburn College. The nominees are:
- Hamzah Hasan
- Muhammad Makda
- Saman Mehmood
- Sahil Usman.
The 1V Group of the Year is sponsored by Blackburn and Darwen Youth Zone and features four nominated organisations:
- National Festival of Making
- Shin Gi-Ruh
- Tuyooral Jannah
- What About Us? (BRCT).
The 1V Health Award, sponsored by Spring North, includes individuals and organisations as finalists. The finalists are:
- Four Seasons Outdoors
- Offload North West
- Red Rose Recovery – Roots Community
- Sarah Bernasconi- Maggie’s Still Birth Legacy.
The 1V Man of the Year is sponsored by Reel Cinema Blackburn and the four finalists are:
- Raja Razwan Aslam
- Javed Iqbal
- Shakil Salam
- Jason Walker.
The 1V Woman of the Year 2024 features a stellar line up of some of the best community activists in Blackburn with Darwen:
- Shanaz Hussain
- Agnieszka Kwiecien
- Vicky McGurk
- Salma Saleh.
The Apprentice of the Year 2024, sponsored by Electricity North West, is a new award. The finalists are:
- Sufyaan Asghar
- Harry Bennet Courland
- Aaliyah Maulvi.
A further two ‘special’ awards will be announced before the event. They are the Leader’s Award sponsored by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, and The John Roberts Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by Let’s Foster.
These awards will be directly chosen by the trustees of One Voice Blackburn and winners will receive their accolades at the ceremony on 17 February.
The 1V Awards Dinner has been running since 2013 and is regarded as the largest and most prestigious community-based ceremony in the town. Over 400 guests are expected to attend the glittering awards event in King George’s Hall where the winners. The theme for this year’s event is Back to 1984.
The spectacle will be hosted by young members of One Voice Blackburn, led by 13 year old Aisha Hussain. She will be joined by Zainab Hanslod, 14, Mustafa Ahmed, 15, and Zainab Ahmed, 15.
The dinner will also feature a musical performance by Alaina Masters, and a dance sketch by the Zoe Taylor Dance Academy. One Voice Blackburn will also be premiering their Back to 1984 video, which was filmed last summer.
1V Awards Manager and One Voice Blackburn Marketing Lead, Sundas Bakhat, is looking forward to the launch of the nomination video, which features last year’s host Aleeza isa.
“The nomination video is something that everyone looks forward to each year. It is launched six weeks before the Awards Dinner and creates excitement and anticipation in equal measures. The 1V Awards Dinner finalists are some of the best individuals and organisations in our town, doing some incredible work in a variety of areas.”
A few tickets remain for the 1V Awards Dinner, priced at £30 each. For further information please contact One Voice on 01254 676193, or info@1vblackburn.org.