Bristol's young heroes honoured at awards ceremony
The most inspirational young people in Bristol have been recognised at an awards ceremony attended by hundreds.
The Bristol Young Heroes Awards were set up a decade ago to celebrate 11-19-year-olds who have overcome adversity to do great things.
This year’s black-tie event was held at The Bristol Harbour Hotel on Friday evening, and featured circus, music and poetry performances.
The winners included Oliver Baker, who was crowned the Overall Hero after being nominated by the Young Carers Development Trust for caring for his mum and nan.
While the High Sheriff’s Award – the only award given to an adult – went to Youth Moves’ Paul Coyne in recognition of his 30-plus years of transforming the lives of young people in Knowle West.
Speaking during the ceremony, Amy Kington, the co-founder and CEO of Community of Purpose, which organised the event, said: “To the young people in the room – wow, just wow, you are amazing!
“You are the reason why this award ceremony is the most heart-warming and inspiring event in the city’s annual calendar.
“You should be rightly proud of yourselves and I hope tonight gives you the confidence and importantly the connections needed to keep on keeping on because better never stops.”
The full list of winners are as follows:
Action Hero – Lola Bassett
Arts & Culture Hero – Ben Kirby
Caring Hero – Chennae Carlyle
Covid Hero – Ahmed Ismail
Enterprise Hero – Pearl Bruford
Environmental Hero – Jibril Abdi
Learning Hero – Yara Maraika
Sporting Hero – Serena Wiebe
Super Hero – Issy Smee
Team of Heroes – Youth Opinions
High Sheriff’s Award – Paul Coyne
Overall Hero – Oliver Baker
Main photo: Charlie Watts
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