Honour Awards 2023: Nominate Your Community Hero

Celebrate individuals and organisations who have made a difference to the lives of LGBTQ people in NSW by nominating them for the Honour Awards 2023.

The Honour Awards are back in 2023 to celebrate outstanding service to, and achievements within, LGBTQ communities in NSW and organisers are inviting people to put forward their community hero.

“The Honour Awards have always been about celebrating how LGBTQ people from all walks of life and different organisations are helping and inspiring others in our communities,” said ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill. “In 2023 we’re proud to continue this important tradition for our communities by shining a light on so many incredible achievements.”

First held in 2007, the Honour Awards is NSW’s leading LGBTQ community awards celebration organised by ACON. As well as celebrating outstanding community service, Honour is also a fundraising event with all proceeds from the Honour Awards going to into assisting the community through ACON’s health programs and services.

Nominations can be submitted in nine categories covering health, entertainment, community, HIV, media, business, visual arts, youth and community service sectors on the Honour Awards website (honourawards.com.au). Nominations close on Sunday 2 July.

“A key part of what makes the Honour Awards so special is that they provide an amazing opportunity to celebrate people in our communities whose names don’t make the headlines, as well as our more high-profile achievers,” Parkhill said. “In order to achieve this, we are asking the community to share the stories of people and organisations that have made a difference – whether it be in the lives of a few, or whose contributions are more wide-ranging.”

Academic, professor, educator and diversity and inclusion champion Brahm Marjadi recalls the excitement of receiving the Health and Wellbeing Award at the 2022 Honour Awards.

“It was unreal,” Marjadi tells Star Observer. “To be honoured by the community for whom I hope my work makes a difference was really humbling. I’m still chuffed whenever I see the award.”

Marjadi, an Associate Professor in Community Engaged Learning and Associate Dean for Engagement at the School of Medicine at Western Sydney University was recognised for his work in LGBTQIA+ health advocacy in the Western Sydney region, nationally and internationally, as well as driving inclusion in the health, medical and higher education sectors. Marjadi says having the opportunity to celebrate our communities’ achievements is “incredibly important”.

“We very often push things uphill and against all odds, and the Honour Awards affirm that we are doing the right thing by the community whom we love so much.”

Marjadi urged people to put forward their heroes in our communities.

“Do not hesitate to let the world know what your hero does and what it means to you and the community,” he said. “The more our works are known, the more likely we will change more people’s lives for the better.”

Finalists will be announced next month. All finalists – as well as the first person to submit a nomination for a selected finalist – will receive a free ticket to the gala event, to be held on Wednesday 23 August at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney.

This year, Macquarie Street law firm Dowson Turco Lawyers returns as the proud Principal Partner of the Honour Awards. Dowson Turco Lawyers, who are previous Honour Award recipients themselves, have been Honour’s Principal Partner since 2018.

Nicholas Stewart, Partner at Dowson Turco Lawyers, said: “Given our long-term involvement and support for the Honour Awards, as well as being award recipients, we know how important this event is for our communities. Dowson Turco Lawyers is proud to once again be part of the Honour Awards and contribute towards the efforts that celebrate the many inspiring achievements of LGBTQ people and organisations in NSW.”

Parkhill added: “We thank Dowson Turco Lawyers and all our event partners including the Star Observer for their ongoing and generous support. You are not only helping celebrate our community’s unsung heroes by ensuring events like the Honour Awards can take place, but also bolstering the strength and resilience of LGBTQ people.

“We look forward to celebrating the amazing and inspirational work of people in our communities.”

Nominations for the Honour Awards 2023 are now open at www.honourawards.com.au.

Winners will be announced at the Honour Awards Ceremony and Reception on Wednesday 23 August at the Ivy Ballroom, Sydney.

The Star Observer is the Media Partner of the Honour Awards 2023.