No2H8 Award Categories for 2023

As we move towards the November 2023 fifth annual No2H8 Awards, we have confirmed the following categories for the Awards.

These include the following:

  • The Young Upstander Award,
  • The Media Upstander Award,
  • The Community Upstander Award,
  • The London Upstander Award,
  • The Local Authority Upstander Award,
  • The Law Enforcement Upstander Award,
  • The Parliamentary Upstander Award,
  • The Social Research Upstander Award,
  • The Lifetime Achievement Award (in countering intolerance and prejudice),
  • The Business Upstander Award,
  • The Sports Upstander Award,

Additional Special Awards

These will be presented by the following organisations to individuals who have made a marked difference to the work of these organisations in tackling hatred, intolerance and prejudice.

  • The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) Upstander Award,
  • The Tell MAMA Upstander Award,
  • The Sylvia Lancaster Upstander Award,
  • The Sophie Lancaster Upstander Award

Public nominations for the awards will open on September 2023.

Notes for Award Categories

  • Young Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a young person (between the ages 13 and 25) who has stood up against hate crime and prejudice at their University/School or within their local community. Their courage and tenacity is to be celebrated and they are seen to be great role models for young people around the country.
  • Media Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a journalist, editor or social commentator who has actively stood up against prejudice, intolerance and bigotry. Given that we have seen media commentary pieces against people with disabilities, as well as against trans-communities, this award, it is hoped, will inspire others to be active in the media world against lazy stereotypes which dehumanize whole sections of communities.
  • Community Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a community activist who has stood up for, campaigned, fundraised or advocated for victims of hate incidents or hate crimes.
  • London Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a Londoner or a London based organisation which has worked, serviced communities or campaigned against hate crime and prejudice. They may embody the spirit of the capital, through being courageous, a leader who builds alliances or who shows tenacity in the face of challenge by those who seek to divide. This Award celebrates the unique nature and the work of such an individual or organisation in the capital.
  • Local Authority Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a local authority who has implemented or undertaken extensive work on tackling hate, intolerance and bigotry. It may also be provided to a leading council officer who has set the way for the local authority in terms of strategic direction setting in order to tackle hate crimes in their local area.
  • Law Enforcement Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a force, police and crime commissioner or officer who has being pro-actively re-enforcing the need for members of the public to report in hate crimes and incidents and has shown significant commitment and dedication in a case that has involved investigating hate crime/s.
  • Parliamentary Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a Member of the House of Lords, House of Commons, councillor or Assembly Member who has made a significant difference to the field of hate crime work or policy or who may have successfully championed a case or issue around hate crimes.
  • Social Research Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to an individual or company who have had a wider beneficial effect in tackling hatred and intolerance and in raising significant awareness of ha crimes in the UK. It may also be awarded to a social researcher for their outstanding research work through a publication.
  • Lifetime Achievement Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to an Individual who has created long term change working and campaigning against discrimination and hate crimes. His or her work will merit many years of dedicated commitment to the work of monitoring or challenging hatred, intolerance and prejudice.
  • Business Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a company or organisation, which has made a significant impact on countering intolerance, hate and bigotry. They may have led the way in the business sector, implemented training for staff or championed this area of work in their business.
  • Sports Upstander Award 2023: This will be awarded to a sportsperson who has had a substantial effect on countering intolerance, hate and bigotry. They may come from any sports or athletic background.

Notes for Additional Special Awards

  • Crown Prosecution Service Upstander Award 2023: This award, which is supported by the CPS, will be awarded to an individual in the CPS who has an outstanding record of working in this area. They may have championed this area internally, developed good practice for the CPS or been an engaging public face for the organisation on these matters.
  • The Tell MAMA Upstander Award: This award, which is supported by the national anti-Muslim or Islamophobia hate crime project, is awarded to an individual who has made a significant difference in the field of work on understanding Islamophobia or in the monitoring of it.
  • Sylvia Lancaster Upstander Award: Sylvia dedicated much of her life to supporting young people and, following the tragic murder of her daughter Sophie, she established the Sophie Lancaster Foundation to educate young people and help them to see the value of an inclusive and safe society.This award recognises those individuals or organisations that work to support young people who are at risk, to divert those who may be a risk to others or promote inclusive, safe communities. Winners may be charities, partnerships or individuals of any age, so long as their contribution and focus is on support for young people in our society. (There are some background notes below on the work and life of Sylvia Lancaster OBE).
  • Sophie Lancaster Upstander Award: Sophie lost her life in 2007, as she sought to defend her boyfriend Rob, as he was attacked in an act of hate-fuelled violence. She paid the ultimate price for standing up to hate. In her memory, this award recognises the acts of young people who stand-up to defeat the hatred that exists in our society. (Note: winners do not have to have intervened  in acts of violence. Their contribution can be in community leadership, victim support or in the many other ways we can use our skills, commitment, and occasionally bravery, to protect and value everyone in our society. (There are some background notes below on the life of Sophie Lancaster).

Dr Sylvia Lancaster OBE
Who died 12 April 2022

Chief Executive and Founder of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation

Sylvia Lancaster came into the public eye, following the brutal murder of her daughter Sophie in August 2007. Following Sophie’s death, Sylvia was determined that she would speak up for Sophie and for all alternative sub-cultures – recognising the intolerance and often violent prejudice they suffer, all because they are simply being who they are and true to themselves.

Following the murder trial, Sylvia set up the Sophie Lancaster Foundation which was registered as a charity in 2009. It challenges prejudice and intolerance through creative and challenging outreach work with diverse audiences in schools, universities, community groups and in young offender institutions and prisons. The Foundation also works extensively with the police and justice system on issues such as victim impact and recognising and recording alternative sub-culture hate crime.

Campaigning nationally and internationally, Sylvia raised awareness of the Foundation and its work and was guest lecturer at a number of UK universities. For many years, Sylvia was a member of the Government’s Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime. Recognition of her work came in 2014 when Sylvia was awarded an OBE for community cohesion especially in the reduction of hate crime, and in a No2H8 Upstanding Organisation Award in 2017. She also received honorary doctorates from the University of Bolton (2018) and the University of Surrey (2019).

For those that knew her, Sylvia was a formidable woman with fierce determination and desire for social justice. She fought for what she believed in and valued education above all things as a catalyst for change. Sylvia worked tirelessly to promote a culture of celebrating difference; something that leads to safer communities for us all.

Sylvia’s legacy is the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, which will honour its founder in its commitment to continue her work to combat prejudice and hate.

She will be sadly missed.

Sophie Lancaster

Sophie Lancaster was a young woman whose life was cut short by violence. She and her boyfriend Rob suffered a brutal, unprovoked attack by a gang of youths in a Lancashire park in 2007. Rob thankfully survived, but Sophie died in hospital thirteen days later without ever regaining consciousness. She was just twenty years old.

The only motivation for the assault was that Sophie and Rob were Goths and the judge at the murder trial, His Honour Judge Russell QC recognised the attack as a hate crime. While Sophie was still in hospital, her Mum, Sylvia, decided to set up a charity to educate people that difference is to be celebrated and not feared. The first thing developed was the strapline S.O.P.H.I.E. – Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere.

Sophie’s story has been told in the BAFTA winning film Murdered for Being Different and in the work of Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, in Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster. Working closely with the Foundation, Coronation Street recently used its massive platform to base a hate crime storyline on Sophie’s murder. This huge publicity raised awareness of the true horror of hate crime and did a great deal to counteract the usually negative portrayal of people from alternative sub-cultures in the media.

The Foundation has gone from strength to strength in its work to combat prejudice and hate and through education, help people examine their own feelings to people who are different to them. Although there will always be sadness at such a tragic loss, Sophie’s face and name is now recognised the world over and has become a symbol for the determination that hope will triumph over hate.