Committees

Black history and cultural diversity campaigners nominated for Petition Campaign of the Year

24 March 2021

The nominees for the inaugural Petition Campaign of the Year Award have been announced.

Petition Campaign of the Year Award

This year sees the launch of the first ever Petition Campaign of the Year Award.

Given out as part of the annual Your UK Parliament Awards, this Award celebrates the inspiring people who have used petitions started on Parliament's petitions website to build support for their campaigns for change.

The winners of the Award will be selected by the MPs on the Petitions Committee and will be announced in due course.

The winners will receive a commemorative trophy and all nominees will receive a certificate to celebrate their achievements.

Nominees: Esmie, Nell, Yacoub and Cynthia

Nell, from Kensington and Chelsea, and Esmie, from Wimbledon, started the petition Teach Britain's colonial past as part of the UK's compulsory curriculum which received more than 268,000 signatures.

Yacoub Yasin, from Westminster, started the petition Making the UK education curriculum more inclusive of BAME history which received more than 25,738 signatures.

Cynthia Muthoni, from Oxford, started the petition Add education on diversity and racism to all school curriculums which received more than 89,000 signatures.

The campaigners gave evidence to the Petitions Committee and Women and Equalities Committee as part of a joint inquiry, prompted in part by their petition.

The Committees put the campaigners' evidence to Minister of State for Education Nick Gibb MP in a later session, and the Committee's work on this issue will continue with sessions with primary and secondary students in the Spring.

Chairs' comments

Caroline Noakes, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, comments:

"It is a pleasure to support Esmie, Nell, Cynthia and Yacoub for the Petition Campaign of the Year award.

"They collected hundreds of thousands of signatures across their three petitions, highlighting this important issue not only to us as MPs but also to the wider public.

"As witnesses they were very impressive and contributed to a very interesting and thought-provoking session.

"I hope that their story inspires other young people to engage with Parliament, whether that’s through the petitions system, contacting their local MP or contributing to a Select Committee inquiry."

Catherine McKinnell, Chair of the Petitions Committee, comments:

"These campaigns are a testament to the power of petitions to highlight issues that might otherwise not be heard in Parliament.

"The nominees have each demonstrated the impact of organising a successful campaign, building on their petitions by gathering support from the wider public, charities and others who share their concerns.

"Our nominees' passion, determination, and ideas for how to tackle the problems they've set their minds to has been inspiring, and they should all be proud of their achievements."

The full list of nominees

  • Clotilde Rebecca Abe and Atinuke Awe, for their campaign on the issue of Black maternal mortality and healthcare
  • Ashley Greenwood, for his campaign to allow limited numbers of fans to attend football matches during lockdown
  • Marcus Rashford MBE, for his campaign on the issue of child food poverty
  • James and Jessie Zammit-Garcia, Bethany Power and Emily Tredget, for their campaign on the impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave

What are the Your UK Parliament Awards?

The 4th annual Your UK Parliament Awards recognise the individuals across the UK who have taken democratic action on the issues they care about.

There are six categories, which celebrate individuals, schools, and organisations who have made a difference in their communities and beyond.

Further Information

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