Welcome back to the Creative Awards London blog where we bring you the latest insights from our design studio and showcase our newest bespoke awards. In today’s blog, we are delighted to cover the Queer Student Awards 2022 and our involvement with this great cause. 

Judged by a panel of educators, employers, queer influencers, and recruitment experts, the 2022 Queer Student Awards, held during Pride month, provide a safe and inclusive space for schools, colleges, universities, employers, and young LGBTQ+ people to proudly celebrate the stories that lie behind their achievements.  

14 categories were awarded during the hybrid event at Whitworth Locke, Civic Quarter in Manchester on Thursday 23rd June.  The event was hosted by writer, speaker, content creator and author Ben Pechey, with a moving keynote delivered by Trans In The City founder Bobbi Pickard, and entertainment provided by South Asian drag queen powerhouses Lady Bushra and Asifa Lahore.

Judges were impressed by the incredible achievements of all of the nominees which included introducing sustainable pronoun badges, running a period poverty campaign, creating a reading section in the library for students and fighting for funding for the local community and national LGBTQ+ charities. 

“The awards shine light on the achievements of students, apprentices, interns, graduates, and freelancers who identify with the LGBTQ+ community and recognise the individuals and organisations who proactively support them. When it comes to activism it can be easy to say you are an activist. When judging all the young LGBTQ+ people category winners as a group, the judges felt unanimously that Grace had shown commitment to inclusive activism in every way one can, and that they were a shining example to those around them,” said QSA founder Steve Keith. 

“Being ‘Queer of the Year’ means the world to me. I have never thought it necessary to be commended for the things I have done as I believe I am just doing my job and what I believe is right. I think even being shortlisted and considered as ‘Queer of the Year’ is an absolute honour and I hope a lot of people realise that even the little things they do can change someone's life and give them visibility they never knew they could have”, said winner Grace Armstrong. 

Creative Awards London were tasked with creating a bespoke award that would capture the important work of all involved with the awards ceremony. Drawing inspiration from the nominees, our workshop set about creating an array of designs before a final one was chosen by the QSAs. Organiser and founder Steve Keith shares his experience, “I first approached the team at Creative Awards London after signing a pledge within the recruitment industry to host more sustainable events. I needed a set of visually impactful and environmentally friendly awards for the Queer Student Awards being held as an in-person event for the first time since the pandemic. The team created a set of designs for me, all of which were impressive (making it hard for me to choose being the only difficulty working with them). The awards were delivered promptly, incredibly well packed and looked amazing on arrival. We received feedback from the winners that they had never seen wooden awards being used at an event and they commented on how much they loved them. Thank you for providing such an excellent service. I will be excited to work with you again in the future!”.

Creative Awards London would like to thank all involved with the QSAs for choosing ourselves as the go-to award supply. For more information and to speak to our design studio contact sales@creativeawardslondon.co.uk or call 020 8159 2747.