After Dinner SpeakersBabita Sharma is an award-winning Broadcaster, Documentarian & Award-Winning Author.
A former BBC broadcaster, Babita presented news across the BBC, including BBC Breakfast and BBC World News where she is the lead news anchor for Newsday.
Broadcasting from London, Babita covered breaking global news. She has covered stories including the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong protests, Brexit, Trump-Kim Summit, EU referendum, Royal Wedding Harry & Meghan, Rio 2016 and London 2012 Olympics and the award-winning BBC 100 Women series.
The Corner Shop:
Babita is the author of the critically acclaimed book The Corner Shop published by Two Roads (2019/2020). The book charts the social history of this unsung hero of British life.
Growing up above a corner shop in 1980s Britain, Babita provides a fascinating perspective of the economic and political climate during her childhood through the lens of corner shop life.
The Corner Shop received a Business Book Award in 2020 for being ‘An Exceptional Book That Promotes Diversity’.
Documentary Presenter:
As a documentarian, Babita Sharma has presented several television documentaries. They include:
- Supermarket Secrets – BBC One
- Booze, Beans & Bhajis: The Story of the Corner Shop – BBC Four, BBC News Channel and BBC World News
- Dangerous Borders: The Story of India & Pakistan – BBC Two
Her landmark series ‘Dangerous Borders’ took Babita to the India/Pakistan border 70 years after partition. During this documentary, she followed in the footsteps of her family, who were directly affected during the partition.
Babita is passionate about diversity and mental health issues. She mentors BAME journalists and also works with the charity Mind to raise mental health awareness in schools.
Alongside the FCO and BBC Media Action, Babita has developed presenter-training programmes for young aspiring journalists in London, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Conference Host and Guest Speaker:
Outside of broadcasting and writing, Babita is a popular conference host, awards presenter and guest speaker.
Recent events at which Babita has hosted include:
- World AI Summit
- World Retail Awards
- Curry Awards
- United Nations (IFAD) Summit.
