BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Qaisra Shahraz MBE, FRSA
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar
Qaisra Shahraz MBE, FRSA
Qaisra Shahraz is the Founder, Curator and Executive Director of MACFEST, Muslim Arts and Culture Festival. She is a prize-winning and critically-acclaimed novelist, scriptwriter, peace and gender activist. Qaisra was born in Pakistan and has lived in Manchester since childhood. Qaisra has gained two Masters Degrees in English & European literature and scriptwriting for television.
Dr. Mohammed Ali, OBE
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar
Qaisra Shahraz MBE, FRSA
Mohammed Ali, born in Pakistan, came to live in the UK at the age of 12. He studied at Huddersfield and Bradford Universities. He then worked in a succession of newly created development roles with Glaxo Pharmaceutical, Community Relations Council; Tameside metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield City Council and Fullemply Group, a high profile London based national ethnic minority training and employment charity.
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar
Advisors
Adrienne Loftus Parkins
Adrienne Loftus Parkins
Adrienne Loftus Parkins
Adrienne Loftus Parkins is a consultant working with literature festivals and awards. She is the founder and former director of the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, now the Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival. She is on the Steering Committee of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and advises M Fest in London, Bangkok Edge in Thailand and other UK based festivals.
Cathy Bolton
Adrienne Loftus Parkins
Adrienne Loftus Parkins
Cathy Bolton is a Co-director of Manchester Literature Festival and has been involved in the Festival since its inception in 2006. She previously worked as a Writing Development Officer for Commonword community writing and publishing project. Her poems and short stories have been published in a wide range of literary journals and anthologies, and her collection 'A Fool’s Height Short of Heaven' won the Sheffield Hallam Ictus Prize.
Jonathan Davidson
Adrienne Loftus Parkins
Jonathan Davidson
Jonathan Davidson has worked in arts administration for over thirty years. He is Chief Executive of Writing West Midlands and lives in Birmingham.
Aamer Naeem OBE
Financial Advisor
Jonathan Davidson
Aamer Naeem qualified with 1st class honours as a pharmacist in 1992 and gained a Masters in Business Administration with distinction in 2007. He is currently the Director of Innov8 Creative Solutions Ltd, a consultancy providing strategic and operational support to a range of organisations as well as delivers Leadership Development Programmes across public, private and voluntary sectors.
Financial Advisor
Financial Advisor
Financial Advisor
Andrew Taylor, Madisons Accountants
Advisor
Financial Advisor
Financial Advisor
Chris Sacarabany has 15 years of experience in intercultural and interfaith program management, he was a program manager organizing the World Congresses of Imams and Rabbis for Peace with the Foundation Hommes de Parole. He served as the Executive Director of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), worked as a consultant at UNESCO - for the UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize and a U.N. competition and is part of Nobody Wants Us producing team.
