Peace Week Awards Celebrate Local Residents That Make a Difference

Residents who have made an outstanding contribution to their local community have been honoured at the annual Barking and Dagenham Peace Week Awards.

Following the recent Peace Week celebrations which centred on the theme of ‘Do Something Kind’, the awards ceremony, held at the Broadway Theatre, on Tuesday 2 October, included six different awards; with each category having three finalists.  The event also included an award for the School Choir Singing Competition.

His Worshipful the Mayor of Barking and Dagenham, Cllr Tony Ramsay was in attendance and presented an award; as did Cabinet Member for Crime, Justice and Communities, Cllr Jeanne Alexander; Chief Superintendent Andy Ewing, Borough Commander of the Metropolitan Police; Nims Obunge, Chief Executive of the Peace Alliance; Ted Parker, Chair of Trustees for Barking and Dagenham Council for Voluntary Service; and Robyn Keeble MBE, a community activist.

Cabinet Member for Crime, Justice and Communities, Cllr Jeanne Alexander, said: “It was an honour to meet these inspirational people.  The Peace Awards are a great way to recognise the effort which people put in, often in their own time, to help others.

“We also shouldn’t forget the runners up, who might have missed out on an award, but should still be very proud of what they’ve achieved.  I hope that seeing what these residents have done will help inspire other people to make a contribution to the community in which they live.”

The awards ceremony was also host to the launch of ‘Together: A Community Cohesion Strategy for Barking and Dagenham’, which has been developed in partnership with statutory, voluntary sector and business partners along with local residents and young people over the last six months.

For more information on the strategy which focuses on three key themes; Neighbourliness; Talking and listening; and Bringing people together, please visit the Partnership website at: www.barkingdagenhampartnership.org.uk