Equality Campaigner Celebrated by CAMRA

Helen Anne Smith has been awarded C AMRA’s top campaigning award at the organisation’s Members’ Weekend and Conference for their work to create a more diverse and inclusive industr y

Helen s nomination spoke of their long list of achievements As well as being a C AMRA contributor featured on the Learn & Discover platform and the Pubs Pints

People podcast, they are one of the founders of the Burum Collective – an online publication for, and by, those working in hospitality

Combine” and the “Brave Noise” brewing collaboration –both of which worked towards improving standards for those in the pub and beer sector

Helen also under took a three-month Wayfinder residency with Cloudwater Brewer y which provided training and funds for the launch of an education hub, providing free educational content for hospitality workers

They then par tnered with the U S based non-profit Beer Kulture to host a jobs forum that aimed to open up UK drinks industr y job listings to a more diverse group of candidates

Their passion for building more diverse and inclusive spaces making drinks education accessible and empowering the whole industr y was evident in their nomination, and the judging panel was impressed by their dedication and the sheer amount of work they had under taken

C AMRA Awards Director Laura Emson said: “Helen was a clear winner, even in this year ’ s strong field of nominations Their campaigning, both on- and off-line , is empowering the industr y to be more inclusive and they have been an integral par t of a huge number of initiatives

In response to the outpouring of stories about misog yny racism and mistreatment of workers within the beer and hospitality industries, they used their platform to organise the Common Ground Conference , where hundreds of attendees heard from industr y leading speakers about improving hospitality workers’ rights They initiatives like “Hospitality

The Beer Kulture X Burum Collective Jobs Board now has a funded administrator and is a resource that helps connect candidates from marginalised groups to employers within the drinks industr y, as well as connecting industr y professionals to oppor tunities such as training or mentorships

“It’s a pleasure to formally recognise their hard work and dedication to making sure that beer and cider are open to ever yone

“This Campaigner of the Year Award is a testament to the positive impact that Helen has had on the industr y, and I look forward to seeing their work in the years to come ”