Christopher Ludlam was born in Edinburgh and has lived most of his life in South Edinburgh. He is a University of Edinburgh graduate, and now a retired doctor having worked previously at the Royal Infirmary and the University. Christopher plays the violin in the Southside Community Orchestra.

Fiona was born in Edinburgh and has lived in south Edinburgh for over 30 years.  She graduated from Heriot Watt University and worked for City of Edinburgh Council and then the Scottish Government for most of her career.  She took up music in later life and also graduated in Music Composition from Abertay University. She plays violin in the South Side Community Orchestra.

MD Noor Alam (known as Rashid) moved to Edinburgh from Bangladesh 18 years ago and sees Edinburgh as his home.

Rashid has been involved in community activism for many years, being a volunteer with several different local charities, such as The Adult Learning Project, The Welcoming and the Leith Community Centre. He finds great pleasure in helping others and supporting those who want to help make Edinburgh a welcoming city for all.

In 2018 he was given The ‘Best Volunteer Award’ by the then Lord Provost, Frank Ross.

Before the Pandemic he was a regular user of the Edinburgh Southside Centre (Southside Community Centre). Rashid joined the Centre’s Management Committee because he want to help make the Centre a place where diverse communities can come together, have a cup of tea and get to know each other.

Nahid was born in Edinburgh. Her parents came from Pakistan in the 1960s. She describes herself as a Punjabi Scot.

Nahid has been involved in community relations for over 30 years. Her first encounter with multiculturalism was when she volunteered with the YWCA Roundabout Centre as a summer school helper. Nahid has worked with a number of community groups over the years, including The Welcoming, ALP, ELREC and Linknet Mentoring.

Nahid joined the Edinburgh Southside Centre Board in March 2022 and has enjoyed being part of the Community Centre. She would like to see the Edinburgh Southside Centre develop into a hub for community engagement, bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to share and learn from each other.

Neill Walker is Scottish, born in South Queensferry, Edinburgh, and is very actively involved in spiritual, social, cultural, environmental, and political events and projects in Scotland. Neill is also a freelance photographer who photographs widely across contemporary Scottish society

Nila Joshi came to Scotland in 1975 as a young bride. Soon after arriving, she made Scotland her home.
Nila worked for city of Edinburgh council for 35 years as a library officer and retired in November 2022 to put her time into the community.

Over Last 20 years, she has been involved in women’s interfaith group in Edinburgh, which gave her opportunity to work with wider community and in recognition of this, and her other work,she was nominated for ‘Hidden Heroine’ award in 2004 award.

Edinburgh Southside Centre has been important to Nila for many years, and she became a Trustee in 2022 to help open the Centre’s doors to everyone.