A celebration of mediation excellence.

On Thursday 13th October 2016, London witnessed one of the largest gatherings of professional mediators seen in many a year. These mediators had come together to celebrate the 6th Annual National Mediation Awards organised by the Professional Mediators' Association (PMA). The theme of this years awards was 'Creating a mediation friendly culture.'

As founder and president of the Professional Mediators' Association it gave me great honour to address the group and to host the awards. I was particularly privileged to welcome our three guest speakers to the awards:

• Andrew Burr. Chair of UK Mediation Awareness Week 2016
• Peter Causton. A leading civil and commercial mediator
• Harriette Wolff. Acting Human Resources Manager at Lancaster (London) Hotel and previous winner of the rising star award in 2015.

The awards were timed to coincide with the inaugural UK Mediation Awareness week and they were a highlight of the week and provided it with a much needed impetus. To coincide with Mediation Awareness week 2017, The National Mediation Awards will be held on Thursday 17th October 2017. Please put the date in your diary!

The National Mediation Awards present an opportunity to profile the work of mediators across the UK and further afield. This year we had 3 new awards celebrating best practice in community, civil and family mediation. The international award was also incredibly popular and the winner travelled from the Philipines to collect her award in person. With almost 1500 members, the PMA brings mediators, mediation providers and organisations who are committed to securing peaceful solutions together to share best practice and drive up standards.

This years winners and highly commended are:

Article of The Year 2016

Winner: Jerome Witter

Highly Commended: Marie Coombes

Marie said: I was hugely proud to have been shortlisted, then awarded Highly Commended at the 2016 National Mediation Awards for the category of Article of the Year for my piece on Mediation and Mental Health. Its fantastic to be recognised by my peers and The Professional Mediators' Association for the hard work I've put into this area.

Award for Excellence in Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) 2016

• Winner: Tim Dalby
• Highly Commended: Ewan Malcolm

Award for Innovation In Dispute Resolution 2016

Winner: Steve Borley (Royal Mail)

Highly Commended: April Nelson (Lloyds Banking Group)

Award For International Best Practice 2016

• Winner: Marissa Puche

Workplace Mediator Of The Year 2016

• Winner: Giles Macnair
• Highly Commended: Bola Oginni

Community Mediator of The Year 2016

• Winner: Liz Law
• Highly Commended: Milee Brambleby

Family Mediator of the Year 2016

• Winner: Paul Burns
• Highly Commended: Clair Cousins

Internal Workplace Mediation Scheme Of The Year 2016

• Winner: CGL's internal Mediation scheme
• Highly Commended: Lancaster (London) Hotel

Mediation Champion 2016

• Winner: Hariette Wolff
• Highly Commended: Joanna Holland

Hariette Said: Very proud to win 'Mediation Champion of The Year 2016' at The Professional Mediators' Association awards. A huge thanks to my great team for all their support. Mediation is the way forward!

Mediation Organisation Of the Year: Independent

• Winner: Catch 22
• Highly Commended: Cyrenians

Mediation Organisation Of the Year Corporate

• Winner: Lloyds Banking Group
• Highly Commended: Royal Mail

Paul Taylor from Royal Mail said: We were delighted to receive the award for Mediation Organisation Of the Year (Corporate) at the recent PMA National Mediation Awards 2016. The award will enhance the visibility and reputation of the mediation team across Royal Mail and is a testimony to the teams work ethic and dedication.

Rising Star 2016

• Joint winners: Clair Cousins and Catherine Anderson

Clair Said: As a winner and highly commended recipients it gives us the opportunity to reflect back on the journey we have taken over the last year. Gaining the recognition through the PMA awards forces us to take stock of exactly what we have done - which is a lot! By being associated to the PMA, its charter and standards has provided us with a key tool in developing and promoting our services for the Channel Islands, nationally and internationally.

Unsung Hero Award - Mediation Scheme Co-ordinator 2016

• Winner: Rachael Batty (Royal Mail)
• Highly Commended: Sonal Akhaury (HSBC)

Video of the Year 2016

• Winner: Cyrenians
• Highly Commended: Sussex Police & The Sussex Mediation Alliance

Presidents award for overall excellence in the fields of mediation and ADR

Winner: Gemma Horsefield.

Gemma is the part time co-ordinator of the PMA and she does the work of 10! This includes arranging events, organising the National Mediation Awards and managing the membership. Gemma is a fantastic asset to the PMA and on behalf of all of our members, a massive thank you Gemma!

During the awards ceremony, I also set out my priorities for the next 12 months:

1. For the PMA to establish itself as the recognised trade body for mediators across the UK
2. For the PMA to proactively influence government thinking and policy on the use of mediation and ADR.
3. As a result of the divisions resulting from the EU Referendum and the need for UKPLC to be more competitive and productive, the PMA will actively promote mediation as a key driver for improving productivity, wellbeing, competitive advantage and harmony.
4. To establish an Ofqual approved International Diploma in Mediation.
5. To expand the free associate membership of the PMA indefinitely. We are seeking a doubling of our membership in the next 12 months.
6. To deliver an enhanced level of membership activities and events.
7. To create a space for PMA members to engage with the PMA via an advisory steering group
8. For Acas to scrap its divisive code of practice on discipline and grievance and replace it with a more progressive and effective approach for resolving workplace issues and employee relations challenges based on the TCM Model Resolution Policy

There was a also an opportunity for several think tanks to develop a vision for the PMA and the findings from these will be published in due course.

This was a truly magnificent and memorable night. Thank you to everyone who supported the awards and of course a huge congratulations to this year's winners. I hope to see you at next year's awards.

About the PMA

The PMA brings mediators together to promote best practice and to drive up standards. The PMA is the trade body for mediators operating within the UK and globally. Its free to join the PMA. To find out more visit the PMA website www.professionalmediator.org