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Celebrating the journey from Aspiration to Inspiration he prestigious Great Hall in the renowned Wembley Stadium was the venue for the 11th Asian Achievers Awards (AAA), held on 16th September 2011, attended by over 1000 people.
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The glittering awards night since inception has recognised and honoured within the British Asian community, saw many highlights including guest appearances like the renowned cricketer Farokh Engineer, Navin Kundra, Sirish Kumar and Clem Alford, Shiamak Davar group, Mira Performing Arts, Bharat Patel and Sameer, Mohamed & Mohin Kassam. The Awards were presented in the presence of an impressive array of high net worth individuals, industry captains, high level decision makers, parliamentarians, community leaders and senior Showcasing the best that the Asian community has to offer, the Awards featured a perfect mix of entertainment, audience participation, interesting speeches and the award presentation. The eleventh Asian Achievers formally started with the welcome message by L George, Chief of Operations, of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, followed by introduction of the comperes- Naynesh Desai, a popular solicitor and presenter and actress Jyoti Patel. CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of the Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, commencing the ceremonies said, "It’s the only award which people nominate and the independent panel of Judges decide the short listed candidates and winners...I know everyone cannot get awards or be nominated but there are so much potential in the Asian community. Silver star, our charity tonight and Keith with his team are doing a fantastic job. Our Chief Guest today is Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, who also has Indian connections. Year after year this event is becoming a bench mark. I am very grateful to my team members who have put everything together so efficiently. We know we all are going to play our part in this venture-whether it's education, business, or profession, but the Asians also have to go in pursuit of scholarship. There was a Parsi woman, who has done so much for us. And Kusoom Vadgama has written about her and she would tell you about her later this evening." The Chair of the Judges Panel, Alpesh Patel added, "As the Chairman of the Judging Panels it was my privilege to deal not with the judges but also with nominees- an immensely inspirational bunch. Take a careful look at the nominees in the community servic-
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, CB Patel, Publisher/Editor ABPL, Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
es uniform and civil services. These are people are not nominated not just for doing their day job. We try to pick unsung heroes, ones who have gone beyond the call of duty. Why do we have these award ceremonies? When you read those biographies you will realise- this is the standard in our community, that's what our children need to aspire to become. The achievements these nominees have made are gob smacking. Thank you CB without whom we will not have such an award function." The Chief Guest for the evening was Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. He spoke about his connection with India and his years there in early 60s. He said, "As a business secretary it is my duty to promote Indian and other Asian communities. I am thankful for the contribution made by the British Asians. Thank you CB, Lyca mobile and other Asian businesses who contributing immensely to Britain's economy. The Indian subcontinent in the 1960s was difficult. It was a time when the state controlled finances and business. Now India is an economic super power. The biggest manufacturer in Britain today is Indian and they are most welcome in Britain. I was in East africa, working. I have seen the Asian entrepreneurs there- Gujarati, Punjabis, Ismailis contributing to that country. Then came Idi Amin's expulsion. Africa's loss was Britain's gain. They came with little money and built up so much. British economy like the rest of the western world has been struggling, these are difficult times. What will lift us from such a situation? It is businesses and investments. My job is to create an investment friendly environment. I can assure you that I will do my best to provide so. I attach immense importance to the contribution you make." Milind Kangle, CEO, Lyca mobile, the Chief Sponsor for AAA said, “I am absolutely delighted to be Asian Achievers Awards 2011 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar
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