Dom Smith wins National Diversity Award

York St John University Film and Television graduate Dom Smith, editor of Soundsphere magazine and co-founder of Disabled Entrepreneurs, has won the 2012 National Diversity Award (NDA) for Entrepreneurial Excellence in the Disability category.

Dom, who has Cerebral Palsy and walks with the aid of two sticks, was one of three shortlisted candidates for this award. “I am still stunned,” he says. “It was such a wonderful experience. There were some amazingly inspirational people associated with the awards, and it was pretty much the coolest feeling in the world to be involved alongside them. To win was just awesome!”

Dom is currently based in the Phoenix Centre, a hub for innovative creative and digital start-up companies at York St John University. He set-up Soundsphere magazine after interning and working for several music publications including Rock Sound, NME.com and T3. Soundsphere has grown from a diverse website showcasing local music around Yorkshire to one of the leading print and online music magazines in the North of England working with national and international artists.

The Creative Condition media agency, which was co-founded by Dom, supports a range of sectors within the creative industry by providing content and media production services. Dom is one of the Disabled Entrepreneurs team who works to support those who have physical and learning difficulties to start-up in business.

The first ever National Diversity Awards took place in Manchester on 21 September and were hosted by Big Brother’s Brian Dowling.  In its first year, the event recognised and rewarded positive role models, entrepreneurs and community organisations from a grass roots level for all their hard work within their respective communities.

By rewarding all aspects of diversity within one ceremony including Age, Disability, Gender, Race and LGBT, the event attracted endorsements from celebrities Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Ade Adepitan and the stars from My Transsexual Summer plus several Paralympians including Jody Cundy, Claire Hardy, and Danny Crates.