Making a Difference Awards
11 May 2022
Earlier this week we celebrated the incredible and inspiring work of our University community.
After two years of virtual awards, the Making a Difference Awards returned in person, with a ceremony that was also live-streamed from the Whitworth Hall to celebrate the positive impact that our staff, students, alumni and external partners are having on society and the environment.
The Awards highlighted the wide range of social responsibility initiatives led by our staff, students, alumni and external partners and covered categories including benefit to society through research; widening participation; environmental sustainability; and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Almost 160 entries were submitted this year, with the judges recognising 16 winners and 23 highly commended projects.
Across our Faculty and Cultural Institutions, academic and PS colleagues, students and alumni celebrated nine winning and nine highly commended projects. It was a particularly good night for SEED, with six winning initiatives and three highly commended.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in both these and our shortlisted entries.
Our winners included a project highlighting inequalities in service provision for older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, led by Dr Tine Buffel, Christopher Phillipson and MUARG colleagues in SoSS, a model for teaching LGBT+ History to secondary school students, developed by Thomas Donnai from SEED.
During the event we also celebrated the winners of our University’s first Sustainability Photography Competition, our Volunteers of the Year, and the amazing impact that our graduates have across Greater Manchester.
SALC alumnus Barnaby Weston (BA History and American Studies) was recognised for his volunteer work as one of the founders of Football for Future, a charity with a mission to build a more environmentally sustainable culture in English football. The charity’s work has included partnerships with huge names including Premier League clubs, Nike, and the footballer, Mason Mount.
- Details of all the winners and highly commended can be found on the social responsibility website.
Short films about each of our winners are available on the social responsibility YouTube channel.
You can also Catch-up with the full Awards event.