Talented people honoured with prestigious Facilitation Impact Awards for making change and progress happen

03 November 2020

Over a thousand people from around the world gathered at a virtual ceremony to honour 74 talented people who received a Facilitation Impact Award this year.

The Facilitation Impact Awards are the world’s most prestigious international awards honouring excellence in facilitation and the measurable impact facilitation has on the challenges faced by organisations.

Positive Voices From Around the World

Recognising our world’s need for a story that brings people together with good news, the 2020 awards called upon many local voices to tell the stories of the awardee’s positive impact.

Leaders from 17 organisations spanning Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and Turkey were recognised for using facilitation to make change and progress happen for their organisations.  

The award ceremony was hosted by: Mr Jeffer London (Brussels, Belgium), featured Ms Julia Donohue (Melbourne, Australia) who is responsible for administrating the awards, and Mr Vinay Kumar (Bangalore, India), who spoke about the value of facilitation. The silver, gold and platinum awards were announced by Farah Ismail (Bangalore, India), Rachel Song-Yeon Kim (Seoul, South Korea), and Gillian Chambers (Kingston, Jamaica). The hosting team all sit on the board of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), the world’s premier association of professional facilitators with members in more than 65 countries.

Quotes from the Ceremony

“Facilitation is being used in companies, communities and government around the world. The awards recognise the specific impacts that organisations and facilitators have achieved from facilitation.” – Vinay Kumar, chair of the IAF

“We all want to see positive change in the world we live but it’s not easy to achieve. Under pressure, group dynamics and processes can fall apart. These are make-or-break moments when an independent facilitator can make all the difference.” – Jeffer London, IAF Board Member

“The awards flow from a peer evaluation of nominations by association volunteers who award points based on a set of objective criteria capable of being applied to any project. The results for successful nominees are reflected in awards at the Platinum, Gold or Silver levels. The awards are international recognition for the achievements of both organisations and facilitators.” – Julia Donohue, IAF Board Member

“The remarkably diverse range of projects receiving awards demonstrates our belief that good group process facilitation can be used in any context to help people change the world around them and have an impact,” shared Mr. Kumar.

“The facilitators who have gained recognition for their expertise have combined innovative planning with expert delivery in widely-varied fields to help their clients meet complex challenges and achieve organisational objectives,” Mr. Kumar said.

About the awardees

Six of the awardees are not-for-profit organisations, six are government, four are small to medium-sized businesses and one is a large corporate. The projects undertaken clearly show that good group process facilitation translates into cost-effective and creative outcomes. The diversity of projects emphasises that expert facilitation can play a major role in any type of project in any sector.

Project summaries for each of the seventeen awards are given available on the IAF website.

Most of the awardees have been featured in a portfolio of one-minute films published by the IAF on the major social media channels.

About the International Association of Facilitators

The awards are hosted by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and are open to all. If you are interested in nominating an organisation for future awards, see the criteria and process, as well as the achievements of previous awardees at https://www.iaf-world.org/site/facilitation-impact-awards.

The International Association of Facilitators (IAF) was formed in 1994 and has a rich history of participatory development. From our past has emerged some of the foundational tools of the facilitation profession, including the IAF Statement of Values and Code of Ethics and the Core Facilitation Competencies. Today, the Association is growing worldwide, fuelled in large part by the growth and activities taking place within national and local IAF Chapters.

Media Assets Available

To support you with your communications about these awards, you may download the following materials:

  • Press Release and Links
  • Photos - Trophy FIA 2020
  • Photos - Hosts and Presenters
  • Photos - Getting Awards FIA 2020
  • Photos - Event FIA 2020
  • Logos of IAF and Impact
  • Graphics FIA 2020
  • Frutiger - the IAF Type Face
     

IAF social media channels are:

  • Twitter: @iafacilitators
  • Facebook: @IAFacilitators
  • Linledin: international-association-of-facilitators
  • Instagram: @iafacilitators
  • Youtube: InternationalAssociationofFacilitatorsIAF
  • Hashtags: #facilitationhasimpact #facweek
     

Further information: Mr Mujtaba Mirza. International Association of Facilitators, Toronto, Canada
e: office@iaf-world.com | t: +1 647.346.3336 Ext.234 | www.iaf-world.org

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