Krish Raval, a long-standing member of the City Sikhs Advisory Board, has been awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen for services to leadership education and interfaith cohesion in the UK.

Krish has helped change British interfaith relations over the last decade with his innovative leadership programmes. In the immediate aftermath of the 7/7 bombings in 2005, he set up a highly influential course for under 30s called Faith in Leadership (FiL). Based on his Learn to Lead programme set up 10 years earlier, he encouraged leading global experts from various industries to dedicate their time to deliver parts of the programme. FIL alumni have gone on to work for or set up leading faith organisations throughout Britain, including City Sikhs.

Since 2012, initially, in partnership with the Divinity School at the University of Cambridge, he has been running the Senior Faith Leaders Programme to develop the leadership of outstanding figures from various faith communities in the UK. A leadership expert and a devout Hindu, Krish has advised several organisations for a number of years on issues regarding organisational development, diversity, interfaith relations and community engagement.

On hearing the news, Krish Raval OBE said:

“Through the FiL and Learn to Lead programmes, we have been privileged to train over 2,000 people across the United Kingdom about the importanceof respecting differences and bridge-building for the common good. None of that would have been possible without the help of my own mentors and the support of my dear family, including my parents who brought untold strength and resilience when they emigrated here decades ago.

Our faiths call for a deepening of community, and I catch glimpses of this in Britain’s wonderful diversity, particularly through my wider family of Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Christian alumni, faculty and friends. This honour ultimately points to their constancy and brilliance.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS
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