Nine Asian women declared winners of Asian Achievement awards

London, May 21 (ANI): Nine British women of Asian origin have been declared winners of the Asian Women of Achievement Awards for the year 2009.

Businesswoman Vin Murria, who set up a foundation to support the education of children in India and was described by the judges as a "perfect ambassador and role model for Asian women in Britain", was declared the overall winner.

Sri Lankan opera singer Kishani Jayasinghe, the first South Asian soprano to sing at the Royal Opera House, was declared the winner in the arts and culture category.

Veera Johnson, CEO, Procserve, an electronic procurement solutions and services company, was declared Business Woman of the Year, while Christina Vaughan, the first non-American to be voted on to the Picture Agency Council of America board, was declared Entrepreneur of the Year.

Riz Lateef, BBC London News, one of the key figures in the coverage of the 2008 mayoral elections, was declared Media Professional of the Year.

The Social and Humanitarian Award went to Shaista Gohir, a member of the National Muslim Women's Advisory Group.

The Young Achiever award went jointly to Neev Ranu, a DJ, whose radio show on Kiss 100 attracts 607,000 listeners and has been nominated twice for the Asian Music Awards; and Rehana Azib, a barrister, who has studied law at Oxford University and is a scholar at Inner Temple.

Dr Sunita Verma, a dentist, she set up Sparkle Dental Boutique, a multi-award-winning private practice in west London, was declared Professional of the Year.

The Public Sector award went to Vicki Treadell, Britain's Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai, a diplomat with 30 years' experience in policy and service delivery roles.

Prince Charles received the Global Empowerment award from the event's founder Pinky Lilani, an Indian-born author and entrepreneur. (ANI)