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2024 AWARDS

Dean from Urban Mindfulness Foundation whose project Mindfulness Based Inclusion Training won an Award in 2022

Thank you for your interest in applying for the Innovations in Mindfulness Awards 2024. The application deadline has now passed.

Keep an eye on our blog and our LinkedIn page for updates on the judging process!

APPLY HERE FOR THE 2024 AWARDS

Categories

Category

What we are looking for

Eligibility

Mindfulness Training Programmes

A significant adaptation to training - online, in-person or hybrid - to address unmet needs. This could be a creative adaptation to serve new populations (particularly marginalised or underrepresented) or to serve existing populations in better ways.

UK only

Technology Meets Mindfulness

A new way of capacity building that leverages digital tech (e.g. wearables, AI, or VR). Given this is an emerging field, the evidence may be at an earlier stage, but we are looking for a rigorous and ethical approach to testing and validation of the concepts.

Global

Creative Partnerships

A partnership between organisations (formal or informal) that operate in different disciplines, fields or sectors. We want to highlight the power of unlikely allies to expand and enhance access to mindfulness through an exchange of  ideas, skills, and reach.

Lead applicants to be UK (though it can be a global partnership)

Category

Mindfulness training programmes

What we are looking for

A significant adaptation to  training - online, in-person or hybrid - to address unmet needs. This could  be a creative adaptation to serve new populations (particularly marginalised  or underrepresented) or to serve existing populations in better ways.

Eligibility

UK only

Category

Technology meets mindfulness

What we are looking for

A new way of capacity building that leverages digital tech (e.g. wearables, A.I, or V.R). Given this is an emerging field, the evidence may be at an earlier stage, but we are looking for a rigorous and ethical approach to testing and validation of the concepts.

Eligibility

Global

Category

Creative partnerships

What we are looking for

A partnership  between organisations (formal or informal) that operate in different  disciplines, fields or sectors. We want to highlight the power of unlikely  allies to expand and enhance access to mindfulness through an exchange of  ideas, skills, and reach.

Eligibility

Lead  applicants to be UK (though it can be a global partnership)

Prizes

All finalists will be offered:

An invitation to the in-person awards ceremony at Manchester Mindfulness Festival
Participation in a showcase webinar to present the project
Coverage of the project in the Mindfulness Initiative newsletter, on social media and on our website

The three winners will be offered:

An award of prize money of £2,000 each
Support through mentoring sessions. This unique element of the prize evolved through the experience of the previous round of Awards, where mentoring relationships emerged naturally and were found to be hugely valuable to the innovators. Mentors will be carefully matched, and sessions tailored to assist with developing the project.

APPLY HERE FOR THE 2024 AWARDS

Judges

Vidyamala Burch

Vidyamala Burch

Vidyamala is the Founder of The Breathworks Foundation, a mindfulness and compassion teacher, award-winning author and coach. She began teaching her mindfulness approach for managing pain and illness following her own personal experience living with health challenges.

In 2001 she developed the world’s first Mindfulness-based Pain Management (MBPM) programme which has now been recognised by the NHS and global health boards and has reached over 100,000 people coping with pain, illness and stress.

Vidyamala’s list of accolades includes an OBE for services to Wellbeing and Pain Management. She has been recognised as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK for four years running by the Shaw Trust Power List.

Cathy-Mae Karelse

Cathy-Mae Karelse

Cathy-Mae Karelse is a scholar-practitioner, facilitator and public speaker on issues of race, difference, bridging and belonging. She is trained in numerous transformation approaches, with more than 20 years of experience in deep systems change that addresses the underlying social norms and narratives keeping institutionalised discrimination in place.

Cathy-Mae has worked across four continents to advance racial and gender justice. As author of Disrupting White Mindfulness: Race and Racism in the Wellbeing Industry, she advocates for global South, Indigenous, and queer knowledges that enhance communal consciousness. She leads the Mindfulness Initiative’s work on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as well the Climate Youth Resilience project.

Luke Doherty

Luke Doherty

Winner of the Innovations in Mindfulness Awards 2022, with his programme BAM! Boxing and Mindfulness, Luke returns as a judge for the 2024 Awards.

A former England U-18s rugby player, Luke left elite sports to train in mindfulness and study how contemplative practices support both high performance and mental well-being. He went on to design bespoke programs for elite athletes in the Premiership rugby and football world and has translated the learning to support leaders and teams, including working with global brands. 

The BAM! programme sits at the core of Luke’s company, Mindful Peak Performance, and provides a new access point to mindfulness for disadvantaged young people. Luke has a degree in Law and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law & Community Leadership, and holds advanced mindfulness training qualifications from Breathworks and the Oxford University Mindfulness Centre.

Uz Afzal

Uz Afzal

Uz is a lead trainer for the programme Radical Self-Care, which was a finalist in the 2022 Innovation in Mindfulness Awards, in partnership with Mind.

With two decades of experience in teaching mindfulness, her areas of interest are mindfulness in schools, in mental health support and in arts organisations. She cites as a  highlight the opportunity to lead silent mindful walks through the V&A museum in London.

Uz’s book, ‘Mindfulness for Children’ was published in 2018. Speaking about the book at conferences and festivals has been a welcome way to connect with people. She is known for her accessible, enthusiastic and creative approach to sharing mindfulness.

Uz is particularly interested in welcoming all the intersecting aspects of people’s identities into mindfulness courses and for teaching with trauma awareness at the fore. A Trustee of the Mindfulness Network, Uz sits on the EDI board looking at ways to broaden the reach of mindfulness and make it more inclusive.

Robert Marx

Robert Marx

Robert is a new member of our judges panel, bringing significant experience in mindfulness research and teaching. He is co-lead for the Sussex Mindfulness Centre (SMC), which he co-founded and which is part of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. A clinical psychologist and cognitive analytic psychotherapist by background, he has been teaching mindfulness-based interventions to NHS patients and staff for 20 years.

Robert believes happy staff and patients thrive where welcoming, respectful and appreciative cultures are being developed and - to that end - he has also been leading compassionate leadership and Mindful Self-Compassion groups.  SMC is committed to reaching the most marginalised communities, and to using a robust research base to guide innovative mindfulness and compassion-based practice.

Having adapted mindfulness teaching programmes himself, Robert will bring insights from his own innovative work to the judging process.

Koen Biggelaar

Koen Biggelaar

Koen joins our panel of judges with a particular knowledge of innovation in technology.

Currently with Microsoft, he has 25 years’ experience in technology and consulting companies. As a principal at Accenture, he saw the potential impact of cloud computing and joined Amazon Web Services, where he developed a technology organisation that helped global companies to transform digitally. Alongside supporting companies in their adoption of generative AI, he is a personal coach, supporting people in finding peace in the workplace while being more productive and cooperative.

His experience of Buddhism led Koen to found a non-profit, the Suttavāda Foundation, offering retreats, talks and courses. He also works with the academic community to promote research on meditation. Koen is currently leveraging his technology expertise to support the development of generative AI bots for mindfulness meditation.

Timeline

5th March

Applications open for the 2024 Awards

26th March

Online Q&A session to support applicants

7th May

Submission deadline

Early September

The finalists are announced

19th October

The winning entries are announced at
the Manchester Mindfulness Festival

Criteria

As well as demonstrating how your initiative meets the objectives of the category, your application will need to show how your project meets the following six criteria:

1. Solving a real need

Why is this innovation needed, and who is it for?

2. Creativity and risk-taking
What makes your offering different from other existing offerings?

3. Diversity, inclusion and accessibility to new audiences
How will your work help mindfulness reach more people than it currently does?

4. Testing and iterating as you go along
How will you develop your confidence that this offering is safe and effective?

5. Collaboration and learning from each other
How does your innovation interact with others in and beyond the mindfulness field?

6. Sustainability and impact over time
What is your implementation plan to make an impact?

Applicant Q&A

In March 2024, we held an online question and answer session for potential applicants. If you couldn't be with us - or if you'd like to recap - the session was recorded and is available to view below.

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