Harris Bokhari OBE was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by Imperial College London last week.
Bokhari was recognised for his commitment to improving the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as improving diversity and equality at highest levels of
government and the establishment. He has co-founded two organisations that work in this area, the Naz Legacy and Patchwork Foundations.
This inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award at Imperial College London recognises those who have passed through the university and have gone on to make substantial and sustained contribution to their field of work.
With over 400 nominees including experts in the fields of medicine, science and engineering, a judging panel made up of College luminaries eventually decided on the awardees. The College also awarded younger alumni the Emerging Leader Awards - with four out of six of the winners being from a BAME background.
Bokhari said of his award: “I am immensely humbled and proud of this award. My education played a pivotal part in imparting on me the value of hardwork and of creating a fairer society. I hope that this can inspire others from minority backgrounds to achieve their
potential”.
He went on to say: "This award also shows the importance of working to bring communities together. This work is often thankless and the outputs intangible, but that makes it all the more important."
This is yet another feather in the cap for Bokhari who is also an Ambassador with the British Asian Trust, an organisation that has raised millions for innovative projects in the subcontinent.
Forsyth was awarded a CBE for services to literature in 1997Getty Images
