Porter Novelli and Media Trust have today announced Mike Thiedke, International Head of Child Sponsorship and Supporter Care, ActionAid International as the winner of Charity Voice 2012.

The judging panel for this award recognising talented spokespeople in the not-for-profit sector were impressed by Mike’s passion during an interview he gave highlighting ActionAid’s efforts to help communities after the Haiti Earthquake in 2010. He will receive a profile interview on the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network and a free media training session for six people from his charity as a prize.

The award launched in April last year to highlight the importance of good communication skills for spokespeople in charities and the public sector. Nominees were selected from delegates attending Media Trust media interview training sessions during the past year run by Porter Novelli. The judging panel included David Mills (Editor of Guardian Voluntary Sector Network), Stephen Cook (Editor of Third Sector) and Charlotte Fiander (Head of PR for the National Federation of Women’s Institutes). Representatives from Porter Novelli and Media Trust also took part in the judging panel.

Two shortlisted candidates, Nick Perks (formerly representing the Environmental Funders Network) and Aimee Grant (ASH Wales) were also highly commended by the panel for their strong performance in interviews and ability to provide valuable insight into the work their charities do.
 
Winner Mike Thiedke said:  “I am thrilled to have won this award that helps to increase the visibility of the important work development organisations like ActionAid do around the globe. The biggest ‘thank you’ goes to my incredible ActionAid colleagues for the work they do in the field with poor and marginalised yet extremely resourceful people in communities in over 40 countries: It is the work they do together every day that allows me to be an inspiring spokesperson for ActionAid.”

Neil Bayley, UK Corporate Practice Leader at Porter Novelli said: “Mike makes a very worthy winner of the Charity Voice 2012 award. Third sector organisations have a great opportunity to get positive profile for their campaigns by effectively contributing to media stories, and it’s great to attendees developing their skills throughout the media training day. Mike is a fantastic ambassador for ActionAid and we hope his example will enable other charities to recognise the importance of talking to the media to represent the views of people who don’t have a voice.”

Gavin Sheppard, Marketing Director, Media Trust added: "We were really impressed by the high quality of all of the finalists, but Mike was particularly passionate and articulate and that really made him stand out.  Training courses like the media interview training that we run with Porter Novelli are invaluable to help a charity raise it's visibility and get its messages across and through Charity Voice 2012 we've been able to celebrate talented spokespeople such as Mike from across the voluntary sector."