CIPR medals awarded at 2022 Annual Conference
More than 300 PR and business professionals gathered at London's iconic National Gallery and online yesterday for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' 2022 Annual Conference.
The Conference - themed around influencing the future - saw presentations from Peter Cardwell (Political Editor and Presenter Talk Radio), Sophia Smith-Galer (author and journalist), Nina Schick (Director, Tamang Ventures), Solitaire Townsend (Chief Solutionist and Co-Founder, Futerra), Simon Baugh (Chief Executive, Government Communication Service), Carrie Rose (Co-Founder, Rise at Seven), and many others discussing topics including generative AI and deepfakes, holding attention in a changing media landscape, the challenges brands face when trying to "do the right thing", and understanding PR's role as communicators in the co-existing fields of ESG and sustainability.
Chaired by Whitney Simon from PR agency, Missive, the conference included a tribute to HM the Queen as photos and memories from members who had the privilege of meeting her through their work were displayed.
Those that were unable to attend or watch the conference live can purchase a digital pass for access to the conference content until 8 December 2022.
CIPR 2022 Medals
President, Rachel Roberts, used the opportunity of the conference, the first in-person conference since 2019, to award the CIPR's annual Stephen Tallents Medal and President's Medal.
Sir Stephen Tallents Medal
The Sir Stephen Tallents Medal has been awarded to Avril Lee MCIPR. Avril is Head of Health, Europe at Zeno Group, chair of the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network, and a Trustee for Doctors of the World UK. In addition to her distinguished career working at a host of global consultancies, including previously being CEO of Ketchum London, President Rachel Roberts noted in the awarding of this medal, Avril's "significant contribution to making change in relation to the CIPR and the PR industry’s perspective on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion".
President’s Medal
The 2022 President’s Medal has been awarded to Richard Bagnall MCIPR. Richard is CEO of CARMA’s European and American businesses and has recently stepped down as chair of The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC). Richard has worked in the measurement and evaluation of comms for nearly three decades, co-authored the 2013 UK government’s Capability Review of Digital Communications, and has been a member of the UK Government’s GCS / Cabinet Office Evaluation Council for the last ten years. President Rachel Roberts, on awarding this medal spoke of how Richard has "advised international clients on the best ways to measure the effectiveness of their PR and prove its value to the organisation for more than 25 years. During this time, he has built and led some of the world’s foremost communications measurement consultancies including Metrica, Gorkana and PRIME Research."
I am honoured to receive this award from the CIPR, who have led the way in the professional and ethical development of Public Relations. With my work in global communications, particularly in health, I’m proud of having helped to support patients and their families to make informed choices. My passion is to make our industry fit for all; a place where smart, creative people can build successful careers, and be recognised and rewarded regardless of factors such as their background, age, disability, gender, sexuality or ethnicity. We need diversity in our community and diversity of thought; this will enable our profession to thrive in a constantly changing and challenging environment.
I owe huge thanks to lots of people, many I am glad to say are now friends: the CIPR, my numerous comms colleagues, those individuals and organisations that inspired and shared my commitment to diversity and inclusion, including the members of the D&I Network, and those who have partnered with us over the years.
I am deeply honoured and very proud to be awarded the President’s medal from the CIPR. I look at the list of previous winners of the President’s medal and feel completely humbled, knowing that I am standing on the shoulders of giants. As a friend of mine says, careers tend to make more sense looking backwards than forwards. I feel very lucky that mine has been so fun and interesting, initially as a PR practitioner but primarily on the other side of the fence, helping to make sense of the effectiveness of our work. For PR and comms to secure the seat at the table that it deserves while defending and enhancing its budgets, it is imperative that it can point to the true value that it contributes. I have attempted to make this process as simple as possible, and demystify some of the elements that can appear confusing and difficult. As the pressure on all of us to be fully accountable increases, it has been my passion to help as many PR pros as possible with this challenge.
Thank you Rachel and all of your CIPR colleagues for this amazing honour. Thank you to AMEC and the wider evaluation industry for the support and friendship. The global measurement industry’s collaboration, warmth and generosity of spirit has never ceased to amaze me. And finally, a massive thank you to all my colleagues and clients over the years. I have so enjoyed working with you, learning and developing together while also always trying to have some fun. It’s been a great privilege, the journey of a lifetime, and I’m grateful to you all.
See highlights from the day on Twitter by following the #CIPRConf22 hashtag.
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners with over 10,000 members.
The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).