European Diversity Awards shortlist

Zaheer Ahmad MBE – National Association of Muslim Police

Zaheer has dedicated his entire adult life to helping others whether it is through his job or a number of voluntary positions he has held over the years. He has worked hard to improve community and race relations between the police service and the Muslim community and also the wider black and minority ethnic community.

Yolonda Brinkley – Beyond Borders Diversity

Yolonda is the creator of the Beyond Borders:Diversity in Cannes. She is single-handedly, and with her own funds, building a global diversity movement at the Festival de Cannes one tweet, follower and status update at a time.

Ben Cohen – Stand Up Foundation

Ben Cohen spent his formative years playing rugby – first in the premiership, then internationally for England. He earned 57 caps and 31 tries for England and was in the Rugby World Cup 2003 winning team. He has since dedicated his time to combating bullying in sport, in particular homophobia.

Beatrice Achaleke – Diversity Leadership and Consulting

Beatrice Achaleke is an outstanding international leader of diversity and inclusion. In addition to her skills and competencies in this area, she has been at the forefront of organising diversity and inclusion professionals from across the globe.

Johnson Beharry VC – British Army

Corporal Johnson Beharry VC of the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. On 18 March 2005, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed forces, for twice saving members of his unit from ambushes on 1 May and 11 June 2004 at Al-Amarah, Iraq.

John Bercow – speaker of the House of Commons

John Bercow MP, speaker of the House of Commons, has always been a champion for diversity, in particular gay rights. In September 2011 he became president of the Kaleidoscope Trust, a UK-based charity who work globally to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Peter Tatchell – Peter Tatchell Foundation

Peter has worked on a wide variety of issues, such as Stop Murder Music, which campaigns against music lyrics that incite violence against LGBT people. He is a frequent contributor on human rights and social justice issues in print and through broadcast media, authoring many articles and six books. In 2012 he was listed as the 17th most influential LGBT person in the world in the World Pride Power List.

Samuel Kasumu – Elevation Networks

Samuel is the founder of Elevation Networks (EN). It is a social enterprise based in London, created to challenge corporate diversity issues regarding the recruitment of women and ethnic minorities. The organisation now has over 8,000 members across the UK, and societies in universities including Leicester, Coventry, and London School of Economics (LSE).

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