A disability rights activist who is widely recognised as one of the UK’s most influential disabled people has been crowned the Future Face of Greater Birmingham at the sixth Future Faces Chamber of Commerce annual awards.
Shani Dhanda was named as the overall Future Face of Greater Birmingham award winner, and has been awarded a fully funded MBA from sponsor Aston University, as well as winning the Future Face of Charity and Social Enterprise.
The online ceremony was beamed from Chamber House in Edgbaston and hosted by Heart Drivetime presenter Gemma Hill.
Headline sponsors for the event were Aston University and Finpoint Business Finance Hub, while entertainment was provided by musical group Elegant Entertainment.
Shani was inspired to become a social entrepreneur, disability specialist and culture change agent, having suffered discrimination and felt underrepresented in her early life.
She was born with a rare genetic condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), more commonly known as Brittle Bones, which affects one in every 15,000 people in the UK.
Shani has gone on to become a respected keynote speaker across business, Government and not-for-profit organisations, as well as founding and leading three organisations Diversability, the Asian Disability Network and Asian Woman Festival.
She has also worked with major companies such as Google, Virgin Media and Viacom, and starred in a national TV advert for LinkedIn’s ‘In It Together’ campaign.
The judging panel said: “Shani is a real inspiration – on so many levels - as a practitioner for inclusion across business, government, non-profit and wider society, she breaks down barriers and helps organisations integrate inclusion into their frameworks.”
This year’s awards were judged by award-winning business coach Justice Williams MBE, Aston University’s Mark Smith, Louise Teboul of Common Purpose, Nathan Dennis from Legacy Consultants, SF Recruitment chief executive Saira Demmer and the 2019 Future Face of Greater Birmingham, Daniel Alcorn.
Other winners of this year’s awards were:
Future Faces Ambassador Award
(Sponsored by Common Purpose)
Edwin Ladd – Mr Ladd Media
Future Faces Apprentice of the Year
(Sponsored by Birmingham & Solihull Training Provider Network)
Taylor Rooke - Updates Media
Future Face of Arts and Culture
(Sponsored by Andalucía Tourism Board)
Casey Bailey - Baileys Rap and Poetry
Future Face of Charity and Social Enterprise
(Sponsored by Inspired Energy)
Shani Dhanda - Asian Woman Festival
Future Face of Entrepreneurship
(Sponsored by SCC)
Kasim Choudhry - Thinkfest Limited
Future Face of Finance
(Sponsored by Wesleyan)
Jo Drinkwater - Grant McKnight
Future Face of Industry
(Sponsored by RSM)
Michal Nowinski - Arup
Future Face of Legal
(Sponsored by Schofield & Associates)
James Farmer - Cornwall Street Barristers
Future Face of Public Sector and Education
(Sponsored by Open College Network West Midlands)
Dr Islam Issa - Birmingham City University
Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications
(Sponsored by Elonex)
Daniel Nikolla - Hardy Signs
Future Face of Technology and Innovation
(Sponsored by Office Angels)
Tom Goodman - University of Birmingham
