Organisations from across the UK gathered to celebrate the growing social mobility movement at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square.
All the 2019 winners
The winning entries of the third iteration of the UK Social Mobility Awards were announced at a dazzling awards ceremony on Thursday, 10th October. Organisations and individuals placing social mobility at the core of their business were recognised for doing things differently to advance a noble cause. By celebrating their success, we are raising awareness of what can be done and how best to do it, thus encouraging and inspiring those not yet beginning their journey.
The Chineke! Foundation Junior String Quartet
This year’s Awards, which were held in association with Capita, included two new categories recognising Schools/Colleges and Universities that are going above and beyond to embed social mobility in their fabric. We received far more entries than ever before from a huge variety of industries and locations, which were judged by a prestigious, independent panel chaired by Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE.
Our host for the night was Tennis, TV and Radio legend, Andrew Castle, while the guests were entertained by a stirring performance from the Chineke! Foundation Junior String Quartet.
In addition, there were some inspirational speeches delivered on the night as Will Serle, Chief People Officer for the Headline Sponsor, Capita, delivered the message that “only by all of us working together can we give the opportunities that some of us have had to everyone.”
Tunde Banjoko OBE
This was followed by a rousing address from the Founder of the UK Social Mobility Awards, Tunde Banjoko OBE. Some of the key quotes from his speech, which evidently struck a chord in the room, were: “The UK Social Mobility Awards are about coming together, about having collaboration, partnership and mutual support at their heart. That is true leadership. Social Mobility is far too big and important an issue, for it to be any other way… Ours is a fantastic country that is one of the leaders in the world, but we could be even better… My ask of you is that you do more and that you get others in your sphere of influence to do likewise.”
Justine Greening MP, winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award
The ceremony ended with Justine Greening MP, Founder of the Social Mobility Pledge, who was honoured with the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Social Mobility award, igniting a call to action for organisations to not just do more themselves, but to collaborate and affect change together by seeing the bigger picture: “Step forward and do more. If every organisation does that, this country becomes a very different place. The keys to change are actually in our hands.”
After a wonderful gala that re-energised those already working in this sphere and encouraged those not yet on the path to wait no longer, guests were free to hit the dancefloor and celebrate with their SOMOs trophies!
A huge thank you goes to everyone who made the awards possible, from attendees to judges, sponsors, finalists, supporters and friends. We look forward to an even better event in 2020.
A Full House
To view the 2019 winners, click here.
To view the photos from the night, click here.
To view the #SOMOs19 Twitter Moment, click here.
Follow the UK Social Mobility Awards on social media for all the latest news and updates.
