David Lammy last night was proud to speak at the University of London Union Laurels Awards. He was also there to hand out the 'Nightline Volunteer' of the Year Award, please find the text of his speach below:

"Good evening, and thanks for inviting me to be here at the awards tonight.

"It’s a real pleasure to be back here because, as some of you might know, I’m an alumnus of SOAS, just down the road.

"I can hardly believe that it’s 16 years since I first walked in to ULU.

"At that stage, I was still in my baggy dungarees, sporting a high top fade and Malcolm X style glasses. Just standing here fills me with fond memories of doing the running man to C&C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now”, of discovering the genius of Morrissey and The Smiths, of my first trips to Manchester’s Hacienda.

"It makes me think of the wonderful diversity that was to be found in one place, because of the sheer breadth of people from the various institutes that constitute the University of London, brought together under that fantastic shared resource of fun, the ULU.

"And it brings home to me quite how much has changed since my first time here. Just in my first year at university, Nelson Mandela was freed, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Margaret Thatcher resigned, and we watched The Simpsons, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Seinfeld for the first time.

"It was here at ULU that I got together with my friends to reflect on each of these events, to argue into night on the finer points of our opinions, and to set the world to rights.

"This place has always been a hotbed of fruitful discussion, and was as much the political heart of the London Universities in my day as it is now. Today, as you will know, it acts on behalf of 130, 000 students, and I am thoroughly impressed that it remains entirely student-led. Given that my own university experience was largely nocturnal, it fills me with admiration that so many of you are able to muster the wherewithal during daylight hours to attend lectures, complete your studies, and still find time to engage in such worthwhile activities and campaigning organisations.

"But then, we spend our lives juggling nowadays. In an age when communication is so immediate, it should be that we have more time to do some of the many things we want to, not less, but of course we end up simply trying to squeeze more in to the time we have.

"We have so many different ways of contacting our friends and loved ones that we barely seem to see them. We are so international that some of us will have more friends in far-flung parts of the country than in the areas surrounding our home. We go on 6 times more foreign holidays than 25 years ago. We spend more time online than on the phone. Global truly has become local. And our identities have become more amorphous, as we continue to defy the some of the more traditional ideas around class, age, faith, and occupation.

"And it is perhaps in part because of the multiple identities we now possess that many people have forgotten what it means to live together. It is too easy to remain in an enclave of one’s own choosing, whether it be on a council estate in Dagenham or in a gated community in Notting Hill. In a time of unprecedented social diversity, there are still thousands of people across the country who do not associate with anyone outside their own social or ethnic group.

"Hundreds of Londoners sit and stand in silence on their way to and from work every day, not daring to break the protocol of studiously ignoring each other despite noticing many of the same people taking the same journey week in and week out.

"Universities like this one are excellent at uniting the academically minded students, graduates and tutors within them, but how much does any average student really interact with those in the resident communities outside their university walls?

"So how we can come together? How can we encourage those “water cooler” moments, of unplanned, unforced engagement between strangers, who look and sound different to one another? How do we promote what I call an “encounter culture”, where perceived social strata and cultural difference do not form the basis of the interaction between people, but in which some other common ground is forged?

"I believe that wide use of our public spaces can make a lot difference. Free access to family-orientated activities has a lot of success in this endeavour, with libraries, parks and museums encouraging adults and children who might not ordinarily mingle to do so.

"But I cannot help but feel that such an important thing must not be left to chance meetings over a returned football kicked too far in the park, or a flippant conversation next to the photocopier.

"Rather, I have come to think that it is by engaging in activities like some of those represented here tonight – volunteering for London Nightline being a prime example – that we can truly come to know one another.

"By giving the time to listen at the end of a phone line, by making the effort to organise a cricket session, by having the passion to encourage others to support a campaign, you are promoting a culture of engagement. You are creating the civic space for people to have the kind of human contact that can form the very core of social cohesion.

"You are allowing people to associate with difference. And I am here because I want you to realise how important that is.

"I am also here to present the award for Nightline Volunteer of the Year. I have recently become a Patron of Nightline, so I’m very pleased that this is my first act in post.

"The person receiving the award this evening has been volunteering for London Nightline for 3 years, and has shown extraordinary dedication throughout that time. I am told that he has completed 31 duties to date, and has been consistently active on the charity’s executive committee whilst also being involved in volunteer training programs and volunteers support.

"Last year, he was elevated to the position of general secretary of National Nightline, as association of the UK’s 50 university Nightlines. In this role, he has successfully co-ordinated a bid to the Department of Health for funds of £155,000, to facilitate the expansion and regularization of Nightlines across the nation.

"This is an enormous achievement, not just for National Nightline, which will now have an office and employ staff for the first time in its 35 years, but also because it is a landmark for the development of welfare provision for university students in the UK.

"This is the first ULU Laurel to be awarded to a Nightline volunteer, and it gives me great pleasure to award it to you, Ben Smith."