ANJOOL MALDE AWARDS – 2021 Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Anjool Maldé Endowment at St Peter's College, Oxford.

The Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust takes great pleasure in announcing its 2021 Awards – with extra admiration for this year’s winners, who have battled through such adversity for a second year running, and yet delivered in style. The Trust makes annual awards with prize money to a selection of UK’s talented best young individuals with a special edge to their achievements. The Trust was set up in 2010 as a legacy to Anjool Maldé (1984-2009) and has been pleased to be able to present well over a hundred awards since then.

Professor Judith Buchanan (Master, St Peter's College, Oxford): “The 10-year anniversary of the Anjool Maldé Awards at St Peter’s College provides a moment in which to take stock. As we review what the scheme has achieved across the past decade, we are struck by the quality and character of the 60 Scholars who have now been the beneficiaries of this generous award. In remembering Anjool, this excellent scholarship scheme brings both significant encouragement and material support to young lives at a crucial point in their studies and we are delighted, year on year, to see the real difference that it makes. We look forward to inviting back all awardees later this year for an event to mark the 10-year anniversary of this very fine award programme.”

SCHOLARSHIP (co-hosts St Peter’s College Oxford)

Winners: (alphabetically) Hattie Dent, Chloe Fox-Robertson, Ed Hodgson, Tamzin Lent, Lucy Lupton, Nandipa Mabere, Lewis Stubley

- Photo 1 here, courtesy St Peter’s College. Professor Buchanan addressing the Winners in a Covid-friendly Marquee -

Professor Judith Buchanan (Master, St Peter's College, Oxford): “Our Anjool Maldé awardees are as varied and as brilliant in this anniversary year as always and their contributions beyond their studies have been emphatic. Alongside sporting, musical, theatrical and debating achievements, these have also included, for example, founding a grief network for bereaved students and working with those experiencing homelessness.”

YOUNG INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR (co-hosts Innovate UK)

WINNER: Anna Watkins, Director, Uncommon Alchemy www.uncommon-alchemy.co.uk (Photo 2 here, courtesy self)

- Photo 2 here – Anna Watkins, courtesy self -

Emily Nott (Head of Diversity & Inclusion Programmes, Innovate UK): “Innovate UK is proud to be working with the Anjool Maldé Trust on the Young Innovator of the Year Award – 2021.”

The Ideas Mean Business campaign is a collaboration between Innovate UK and The Prince’s Trust to engage and inspire young innovators from diverse backgrounds. The programme supported 64 young innovators this year, who each received one-on-one coaching from an innovation champion, funding to support development of their business and an allowance to cover living costs. They were invited to apply for this Top Innovator award and an independent judge appointed to select as winner someone who had managed to make significant progress despite facing many challenges.

Professor Ken Eason (Independent Judge, a leading expert on Sociotechnical Innovation): “All the entries for the Young Innovator of the Year Prize 2021 were great and they all deserved to be winners. What an impressive collection of young people. The winner I have chosen is Anna Watkins. Anna is a wonderful example of a young person who had a brilliant idea of how to turn seaweed into a substitute for leather products and who has been on an amazing journey to transform an experiment that began in a saucepan over the kitchen stove into an industrialised production process, making a range of impressive products. She suffered a series of major setbacks in this process, not least the management of a chronic health problem, but through determination and great use of the support network the innovator scheme has helped her access, she is well on the way to becoming a very significant innovator. Many congratulations and good wishes for the future to Anna.”

Anna Watkins (Winner, Director of Uncommon Alchemy): “It’s an absolute honour to receive this award from the Anjool Malde Trust. I’m incredibly grateful for the recognition and support I’ve received both from the Trust and from the Young Innovators programme, and the sense of achievement this brings. My company, Uncommon Alchemy, is developing highly sustainable materials for fashion, and this award will help me to continue working on solutions for some of fashion’s most pressing problems. My goal has always been to contribute to a better material future, and this award supports me to do that.”

YOUNG SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR (Sponsor Tom Latchford, co-hosts Localgiving Foundation)

WINNER: Nicola Filzmoser of HappyR Health

- Photo 3 here, Nicola Filzmoser, courtesy self -

Tom Latchford: “I am delighted to be able to resume this award after having had to suspend it last year on account of the Covid-19 Lockdown - and even more to celebrate the story of the exciting winner this year, Nicola Filzmoser.”

Rajeeb Dey MBE (Judge & Founder & CEO of Learnerbly): “Nicola has developed an innovative solution to what is a problem impacting negatively on the lives of many young people. Suffering with chronic pain is difficult for anyone but the fact that Nicola has uncovered that 29% of 5-25-year-olds live with chronic pain is a surprising statistic. These are the prime years of our lives so to have a solution that brings the best of gamification and utilises technology in a way that is engaging for young people is a great way of addressing the challenge. It's encouraging to see Nicola taking her product to clinical trials with NHS Leeds and I hope that it will go on to positively improve the lives of millions of young people around the world. Congratulations on the well-deserved award!”

Nicola Filzmoser: “Being named the Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 is a great honour. It's a recognition that goes beyond my individual work as an entrepreneur. It stands for the potential of young people to bring positive change to our societies; Our team's top-most goal at Happyr Health. The award further strengthens my own and my team's vision to provide young people with the playful and personalized pain management support they need. Taming pain dragons! Being part of inspiring communities such as the Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust enables us to combat the emotional and social challenges young people face because of their chronic pain. And therefore, also enabling them to fulfil their full potential.”

The Judge had a special word for the youngest applicant, 18-year-old Bailey Greetham-Clark, CEO, BeGreatFitness: “Bailey has shown great initiative at such a young age. Combining his passion for sport to help people who may otherwise be overlooked to gain confidence and empower them to achieve their full potential is highly commendable.”

PHOTOGRAPHY (Lead Sponsor and Judge Reuben Kench, co-hosts Northern School of Art)

WINNERS: Page Moorby (Fine Art), Ashleigh Readman (Commercial Art)

- Photos 4, 5 (Page Moody with Jamie Macdonald, Senior Lecturer Photography, and her artwork in photo 5) and Photo 6 (Ashleigh Readman with her artwork in the background) here, courtesy NCA -

Judge on Page Moorby: “Simultaneously beguiling and unnerving, Paige’s work feels urgent and brave, serious and unselfconscious. Substances and objects deliver multiple connotations as we simultaneously try to decode the whole and the parts.The range of forms being employed suggests deft and instinctive control of new techniques and an enjoyment of materials, but always with the clear purpose of conveying content and meaning, rather than out of interest in the techniques per se”.

Page Moorby:” I am very thankful for winning the award and I feel like it will have a very positive impact on my future. This award has already helped my future practice. Since the award I have been in contact with a range of people in industry about being involved with various projects, this has helped me stand out against contesting peers. Moving my practice forward, this has given me a lot of encouragement and motivation to keep producing work within this style I have created which I can often doubt.”

Judge on Ashleigh Readman: “It's hard to make work that is unique and fresh about a subject as multi-faceted and global as the environment and climate change. Ashleigh demonstrates an instinct for form and colour that allows her to make work that draws the viewer in. The control of light, sound and temperature within an installation in which the photographically rendered imagery is suspended in water, creates a glorious duality – we gaze at colour and almost abstract form beneath the sheen of the water’s surface, lured into the beauty of manmade materials, whilst the persistent sound of flowing water and the dislocating darkness of the space, force us to consider the threat we pose to the world’s ecosystems.”

Ashleigh Readman: “Winning this award has given me the drive to push boundaries within my photography and create pieces of work that can leave an impact on the viewer. I feel very strongly about pollution and what is happening in our world today. Receiving the award proved that my ideas and innovative thinking can work and communicate this. This adds to the huge amount of positive feedback I have gained from this show.
For this reason, I now plan to push this further and come up with bigger and better ideas for a whole new exhibition which I plan to push myself to create in the future.”

YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (co-hosts Queen's University Belfast)

JOINT WINNERS (for their Film, Skeletor): Jack McCann (Director and Producer), Malin Hempill (Cinematographer), Joseph Scott (Editor)

- Photo 7 here – Malin Hemphill, Jack McCann, Joseph Scott, courtesy Film Studies & Broadcast Production, QUB -

Professor Cahal McLaughlin (Chair of Film Studies at QUB): “We have identified the film, Skeletor, as the winner this year. This film follows the recent fortunes of a young mixed martial arts boxer from Ballymena, Rhys McKee, and shows evidence of high professional standards in directing, cinematography and editing. Rhys expresses his determination, but also his vulnerability, told here in a compelling story.”

Winners: “We are incredibly honoured and grateful to receive this award for our documentary Skeletor, which focuses on Mixed Martial Artist Rhy McKee. This recognition has certainly increased our confidence exponentially and will inspire us to work on new projects in the future. Thank you very much once again.”

JAZZ PRIZE (co-hosts Guidhall School of Music & Drama)

WINNER Luca Manning

- Photo 8 here – Luca Manning , courtesy GSMD -

Malcolm Edmonstone (Head of Jazz, GSMD): “Luca Manning from Scotland is an extraordinary musician, a vocalist who transcends boundaries and has a highly developed artistry. Trained as a jazz vocalist, his music is gathering considerable attention as he turns his hands effortlessly to new projects. He is a natural collaborator with a brilliant attitude and we are thrilled that he has been awarded this most prestigious award.”

Luca Manning: “I am delighted to be awarded the Anjool Malde jazz prize. It is a beautiful celebration to mark the end of my time studying at GSMD and I am very humbled to have been chosen to receive it. I plan to use this award to continue creating and making music that resonates with people.” https://www.lucamanningmusic.com

CLOSING STATEMENT (AMMT TRUSTEES): “We extend our Warmest Congratulations to the Winners especially against the backdrop of these very strange times we live in. When the 20-somethings are in many ways the forgotten, unsupported generation, it is a marvel how they yet take it on the chin and deliver in style as these winners demonstrate. What a fitting tribute for the 10^th Anniversary of the Anjool Maldé Endowment at St Peter's College! Thank you too to all our supporters, sponsors, co-hosts and helpers – many of them unsung heroes who smile through it all and never get a mention – THANK YOU EVERYONE.”

-ENDS-

NOTES:

• Press Release distribution courtesy Pressat (pressat.co.uk)
• Anjool Maldé Awards – Gemma Shaw (gemshaw@hotmail.com)
• Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust (www.anjool.org)
• HappyR Health: https://happyrhealth.com/
• Uncommon Alchemy: www.uncommon-alchemy.co.uk
• St Peter’s College Oxford (masters.pa@spc.ox.ac.uk)
• PRO at Northern College of Art (Rachel.smith@northernart.ac.uk)
• Film Studies QUB – Professor Cahal McLaughlin (c.mclaughlin@qub.ac.uk)
• Jazz Dept GSMD (www.gsmd.ac.uk/music/principal_study/jazz/)