Parvez Qadi receives award at Rochdale Borough Sport & Cultural Awards

Parvez Qadir with his award

Parvez Qadir, a drama lecturer from Hopwood Hall College who helps turn the lives of young males around, was named Best Cultural Facilitator or Practitioner at the Rochdale Borough Sport & Cultural Awards.

Parvez was delighted and “stunned” when MC for the evening, the comedian Ted Robbins, announced his name.

The award is in recognition of his work with a group of young males who had been involved in low-level criminality, some on youth offending orders and some who simply felt marginalised from school and their community.

Parvez explained: “Over a period of four months, I helped to build their self-esteem and confidence, giving them a voice to express their emotions and feelings; the performance was called Unseen Voices and the project helped to galvanise the group.

“Unseen Voices was then performed at Rochdale Town Hall in May and even won an award.

“It had really positive outcomes for the young males, such as engaging them back in to school and out of any involvement with criminality.”

The four pupils involved, who attend Falinge Park High School, also got a surprise, when they won another award for The Best Community, Participatory or Education Project.

In addition to lecturing at the College, Parvez works as a drama facilitator working with hard-to-reach communities in the North West, providing a platform for young people to express themselves via drama, spoken word or film-making.