Editing Vernon Corea (section)

==The BBC==
[[File:Bbc broadcasting house front.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Vernon Corea created broadcasting history in the United Kingdom when he was appointed the first ever Ethnic Minorities Adviser to the BBC. He was the first Asian to be appointed to senior management at the [[BBC]].]]
The Corea family migrated to England in 1975.  Vernon Corea worked for Radio Worldwide based in [[Upper Norwood]], then for [[BBC Radio London]] as a presenter for the popular [[London Sounds Eastern]]. He interviewed many Asian stars, including Pandit [[Ravi Shankar]] and [[Usha Uthup]]. The BBC radio programme drew a huge audience in the capital and was even featured in the [[Radio Times]]. Vernon Corea soon climbed the management ladder at the BBC – he was appointed Local Radio Asian Programmes Officer in 1978. He went on to become the ''Ethnic Minorities Adviser'' to the BBC; This was a senior management appointment – he held this post at the BBC until his retirement.<ref name="Ethnic Minorities Adviser to the BBC">{{cite web |title=Vernon-Sri Lanka's pioneering broadcaster|url=http://members.tripod.com/ivan_corea/id3.html|access-date=4 September 2008}}</ref> Vernon Corea played a pivotal role in introducing and mentoring young, gifted and talented people into broadcasting. He trained minority ethnic broadcasters and found placements for them on the BBC Local Radio Network. His work contributed to the diversity of the BBC.<ref name="BBC Asian Network">{{cite news |title=Vernon Corea-Broadcaster who championed minority community-based media|first=Reginald |last=Massey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/oct/15/guardianobituaries.broadcasting|access-date=4 September 2008 | work=The Guardian | date=15 October 2002}}</ref> Vernon Corea also lectured at the BBC Training Centre. Many of Corea's trainees are now presenters of mainstream radio programmes on [[BBC Radio]]. Among those who came to seek Vernon Corea's advice was the top [[BBC News]] Presenter, [[George Alagiah]].

Corea was also invited to [[Nepal]], [[Bangladesh]] and the [[Maldives]] to train broadcasters and was introduced to the [[President of the Maldives]] on a visit to Male, the capital.