Elainea Emmott / nOSCARS 

MNEK, Phil Samba and founders of Black Fly Zine – a sexual health magazine for queer people of colour – took home top awards at the ceremony that took place in London on Monday evening.

A lack of visible role models and voices speaking to the importance of sexual health in Black and Caribbean communities means our communities are being left behind in the fight against HIV. Black African and Caribbean communities are disproportionately affected by HIV and poor sexual health.

Black African and Caribbean LGBTQI community won big. Phil Samba, an HIV prevention activist working with organisations like Terrence Higgins Trust and BlackOut UK, won the Black African and Caribbean nOSCAR for his tireless work as a role model encouraging Black gay men to take PrEP and get tested regularly.

Nash Paragon Langley, founder of Let’s Talk: Queer People of Colour, took home the Innovation nOSCAR for his work bringing together queer men of colour to share their stories, poetry and spoken word to help combat isolation.

MNEK, the out and proud singer and songwriter who’s written for Beyonce and released his debut album this year, won the LGBTQI nOSCAR for his unapologetic openness and for emboldening and empowering a new generation of queer Black folk.

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Daniel Thomas and Marc Morrison, directors of NAZ’s Joyful Noise Choir won the Wellbeing nOSCAR for their work as musical directors of NAZ’s Joyful Noise Choir, which is a support group and choir for people living with HIV.

The founders of Black Fly Zine, a sexual health magazine for queer people of colour, took home the Media nOSCAR. Black Fly Zine presents “decolonised information via submissions in poetry, short story, illustration, photography, collage and essay” and has been instrumental in creating a space for the discussion of a diverse range of sexual health issues facing their community.

nOSCARS is NAZ Project London’s annual celebration of the people, programmes and media making a positive impact to sexual health outcomes in Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

A lack of visible role models and voices speaking to the importance of sexual health in Black and Caribbean communities means our communities are being left behind in the fight against HIV. Black African and Caribbean communities are disproportionately affected by HIV and poor sexual health.

Highlights from the event can be seen below: 

Elainea Emmott / nOSCARS

Elainea Emmott / nOSCARS

Elainea Emmott / nOSCARS

Elainea Emmott / nOSCARS

More information can be found here