The season of Awards has begun. In recent years there has been a proliferation of awards - from local to national, industry based or generic. It is of course crucial for any organisation, in business or the arts to gain recognition for its products and services. Winning an award allows you to differentiate your company from your competitors and ensure that the audience are aware of your titles.
There are people who profit from the various organisations' desire to be on top of the polls. However it is only the best award schemes that matter because they provide an insight into what hard work, intellect and inspirational thoughts can deliver. The best work of the most talented and creative people make us realise that convention exists by breaking moulds and it is too easy to adjust and settle for compromise.
The Asian Achievers Awards organised by the Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar stand out by creating an unmatchable platform for role models in the community. The nominees come directly from the over 250,000 readers, and judged by a very well esteemed and independent panel of judges. The aim of the awards is to create leaders for the community and establish the track record of those, who are regularly contributing to Britain's 'Big Society'.
Known as the ‘people's choice award,’ since launching, the Asian Achievers Awards has helped to raise millions of pounds for various charities, and this year the chosen charity partner is the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which works to eradicate classroom hunger and facilitate childhood education by serving freshly cooked, nourishing lunches to 1.6 million school children across India every day. The theme of the Awards is Diversity in Media, Arts and Culture, and the aim is to provide a better platform for the under represented in the society. According to surveys only one in 16 senior leadership positions are held by someone from an ethnic minority, despite there being a pool of one in 8 ethnic minority people of working age in the UK.
This year’s Awards will be attended by Bollywood actor, producer, director and singer. Farhan Akhtar will also be attending the Asian Achievers Awards to reflect the theme of this year’s event. Bollywood singer, actress and model, Raageshwari will join former Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra to host the glittering ceremony- another role model, who stands for diversity in the field of acting.
While awards like ours have taken years to establish, build credibility and stand out as a reputable and trustworthy brand, unfortunately in the recent past there have been some also-rans who not only copy the idea but also pass it off as their own. It is a compromise that one should not make, especially when competition is fierce.
In today's Britain there are too many award schemes. As the Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK, Ambassador Dinesh Patnaik once added in jest, that given the number of awards he gets invited to, he is sure that every Indian would receive an award one day. It is a fact that though receiving an award builds your viability, reputation and visibility, associating with a wrong title can also lead to irreversable damage.
Entering your business or yourself into some awards, can improve brand awareness and promote your business or yourself to new customers or a different audience. The application process for entering a business award can often force you to look at yourself from a different perspective and compare yourself to your competitors. Winning it can also give a seal of approval to your activities, helping build future relationships, staff motivation and attract talents. It is therefore very important that one must be selective about where they are nominating themselves, what award they are associating themselves with and the track record of the organisers. Because what they might unwittingly create for themselves is an unalterable and questionable record.
