This year’s Special Recognition Award went to Victor Koroma, saluting his 25 years service to our community advocating for the rights of minority and marginalised communities in Reading.
The award was announced by Reading’s Mayor Councillor Alice Mpofu-Coles who outlined his achievements to guests. She said: “For my friend Victor who I admire and value so much, for your dedication and commitment to the communities in Reading, please accept the Pride of Reading Special Recognition Award.”
Victor arrived in the UK in 1988 from Sierra Leone and earned a law degree after experiencing racial discrimination firsthand.
He was unable to attend the Awards lunch but in a video he told guests: “Reading is my home from home.” He added he had retired from the Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE) which was founded in 1968 but the ideals of the organisation encouraging communities to contribute towards making Reading a respectful and cohesive society still held true. Victor thanked Reading Borough Council and other voluntary sector groups for their support.
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From 1999 to 2011, Victor served as Deputy Director of the Reading Council for Racial Equality.
By 2012, he was the CEO of ACRE having merged two organisations and created a unified voice for community advocacy.
He established the first major conference on culturally-based violence against women and girls, created the pan-Equalities Alliance in 2014, which monitors hate crime and community safety and spearheaded the Community Matters initiative with Thames Valley Police.
He was also a founding member of Reading Refugee support group and City of Sanctuary and instrumental in making Reading’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day a civic event. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Koroma supported NHS efforts to increase vaccine uptake in minoritised communities and helped establish a community wellbeing hub in 2022, which now attracts 120 to150 weekly.
