Accessibility links Amongst the celebrities invited to the event were actress Meera Syal, Dragons Den star James Caan, Shadow Minister for Women Theresa May
and Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty. The Asian Women of Achievement awards have been honouring talent for a decade and tonight’s guests included the Duchess of Cornwall and famous names from the worlds of politics, business, and the arts. Businesswoman Vin Murria was named as the overall winner and presented with her award by the Prince. The judges said that Miss Murria, who set up a foundation to support the education of children in India, was a “perfect ambassador and role model for Asian women in Britain”, and praised her ability to commit her “seemingly endless energy and intellect” to her career, her family and her charity work. Speaking about the Prince’s award, a spokesman for the event said the royal had “personally founded 18 charitable organisations across his group of not-for-profit enterprises, the most notable of which being the Prince’s Trust. “His Royal Highness is the driving force behind numerous projects around the world such as Turquoise Mountain, designed to create jobs in Afghanistan by preserving a medieval (area of Kabul), and the Prince’s Rainforests Project which is trying to find solutions to the deforestation of the world’s tropical rainforests.”
During the event the Prince and Duchess had a chance to meet some of those nominated for awards.