Chinatown the Magazine

Chinatown - The Magazine came into being in 2003.  Since its inception the main aim of the magazine is to raise the profile of the Chinese community in Britain, to dispel stereotypes, and to address issues which affect the third largest and yet relatively invisible ethnic group in the UK.  It is a bimonthly publication, in English, that reaches out to the Chinese community in Britain. It is for the new generation of British born Chinese who want to know more about the culture of their parents and grandparents. It is for the new Chinese migrants who want to understand more about the Chinese Community in Britain. And it is also for people from other cultural backgrounds who have an interest in East Asian culture.

The Pearl Foundation was conceived as a Social Enterprise Organisation, designed to further social inclusion and participation of the Chinese community in Britain, both culturally and economically. The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Britain in 1885, and from those few hundred residents has swelled to a significant 250,000. It is a community that can and has achieved much - an unprecedented 25% of Chinese men and women possess university degrees, whilst its young people can, according to OFSTED, claim the highest rate of success in obtaining GCSE passes. Yet it remains an overlooked and often marginalised minority.

It is the purpose of the Pearl Foundation to work to change this, via the promotion of an inclusive society and active citizenship. In accordance with these social aims, the Pearl Foundation is a strictly non-profit organisation, with all fiscal surplus reinvested directly into the community. Business expertise is applied to the pursuit of social objectives, thus allowing the Pearl Foundation to foster economic, cultural, social and environmental improvements in both the Chinese and the wider community.

The Pear Award, , pronounced 'Bo Le' in Mandarin Chinese, is phonetically homophonous to the word 'pearl'. 'Bo Le' was a man who lived in the period of the Warring States in Chinese history, who was famous for his ability to pick out a thoroughbred from a herd of horses. The name denotes the gift of wisdom to pick the best from the masses and is in keeping with the foundation's aim, which is to select and award talented Chinese. The association with Pearl continues in the proverb "hui yan si zhenzhu" meaning "It takes wise eyes to recognise a precious pearl".

We believe that The Pearl Awards will provide a much-needed and long overdue event to recognise and make Chinese talents visible in Britain.

There are a number of awards highlighting achievements and providing positive images within other ethnic minority groups. In addition to award events from the Commission for Racial Equality and Windrush, there are many others which highlight the achievements of different ethnic minority groups such as the Asian Business Awards, Black Enterprise Awards, Music of Black Origins (MOBO), EMMA Awards, etc - but none that are specifically focused on the Chinese community.

We hope that The Pearl Awards will complement these events and be equally successful in showcasing the breadth of accomplishments of the Chinese in Britain and provide inspiring role models for the Chinese and the wider community.

The 2006 Pearl Awards will be held on Thursday, 28th September from 6.30 pm at City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA.

As part of The Pearl Foundation’s ongoing commitment in fostering and nurturing creativity in the Chinese community, the evening will feature performances by young Chinese artistic and musical talents.

It is conducting a nationwide search to find gifted young musicians to perform in The Pearl Awards ceremony (ages from 8 to 18) and invite any applications from teachers and music schools of outstanding young musicians.