Tower Hamlets Civic Awards 2025
The Tower Hamlets Civic Awards honour individuals who improve community life through unpaid contributions in areas like sports, arts, business and social services
Nominated by the Centre for Public Engagement and Civic team at Queen Mary, Dr Kathleen McCarthy (School of Arts) and Prof Alastair Noyce (Wolfson Institute of Population Health) were recognised for their work in improving the quality of life for local people and Dr Sara Paparani (Wolfson Institute of Population health was recognised for community involvement in research.
Their work makes a significant contribution to Queen Mary's civic mission in, with and for East London.
Professor Alastair Noyce lead the N20 Know the Risks campaign in 2022 to combat nitrous oxide abuse among young people in the UK. Collaborating with Queen Mary medical students, Tower Hamlets Council, and the Osmani Trust, he developed workshops that reached over 2,000 young people. His efforts improved patient care by creating a structured pathway for N2O-related conditions and informed local and national policy on nitrous oxide misuse.
Dr Kathleen McCarthy established a partnership with Tower Hamlets Education Partnership in 2019 and co-founded the New Arrivals Network, which spans 62 primary schools. This network supports teachers and SENDCOs (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinators) in assisting migrant children. She is also leading a retrospective profiling of educational outcomes in English as an Additional Language (EAL) children.
Dr Sara Paparini is the social science lead for the SHARE collaborative and leads the 'Partnership for Black People’s Health' project, engaging Black African and Black Caribbean communities in co-produced research to mitigate health disparities. Her work with the 'Harnessing Collective Power' initiative, commissioned by Tower Hamlets Council, amplifies community voices in local policymaking, empowering residents to participate in research and policy development.