Island People Excellence Awards 2026 announces finalists ahead of Limassol HR Conference and Awards Gala

Two projects in each of four categories will be presented live on 27 November. One winner per category will be honoured on 28 November.

Limassol, Cyprus, 10 November 2026 — The Island People Excellence Awards 2026 today announced eight finalist projects, two in each of four categories. The finalist teams will present their work in depth at the HR Conference on Friday, 27 November, and one winner in each category will be announced and honoured at the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner on Saturday, 28 November. Both events will take place at Crowne Plaza Limassol.

The 2026 finalists

Talent in Action

• INEX — Like a Local, a relocation programme that helps employees and their families prepare for the move and settle into life in Cyprus.
• DataArt — International Programming Proggy-Buggy Contest, a free competition that challenges programmers of different experience levels to solve 13 problems in 42 minutes.

Culture in Motion

• Smart Dynamics (Kadam, Kaminari Click and OfferGate) — City of Values, an online onboarding game in which new hires apply company values to realistic workplace dilemmas.
• Mayflower — Project +357: From Relocant to Islander, a welcome programme that introduces relocated employees to Cyprus through local products and team activities in Limassol’s Old Town.

Staying Power

• Mayflower — From Concentrated Expertise to Distributed Technical Ownership, an initiative that introduced Lead Engineer roles and gave developers more responsibility and clearer career paths.
• SportBenefit — SportBenefit, a flexible employee membership covering more than 350 fitness and wellbeing venues across Cyprus.

Impact HR

• AdTech Holding and SOTA — AdTech Holding Becomes Strategy-First Organization, a programme that redesigned how the company sets priorities and puts its strategy into practice.
• INEX — A Culture of Clarity, an initiative that gives employees round-the-clock access to HR policies and procedures in one place.

Friday, 27 November — HR Conference

The teams behind all eight projects will explain the challenges they set out to solve, how they implemented their initiatives and what results they achieved. Attendees will be able to ask questions and discuss which practices they could adapt to their own workplaces. 

The full-day programme also includes expert discussions and time to meet peers from across Cyprus. Cases from nominated teams will be featured in the award’s forthcoming white paper on HR best practices in Cyprus.

Saturday, 28 November — Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner

One project in each of the four categories will receive an award. The organisers will also announce the recipients of the special awards. The evening will bring together finalist teams, jury members and the wider business community for the ceremony, gala dinner and live entertainment.

Tickets and programme

Conference and gala tickets are available separately. The Full Experience Pass covers both days. View the programme and book tickets.

About the Island People Excellence Awards

The Island People Excellence Awards recognises HR and people-focused projects shaped by Cyprus’s business and working environment. The initiative is led by HR Breakfast Club with co-organisers Mindsetto and Integrated Professional Growth (IPG).

The 2026 awards are supported by sponsors and partners Kasha, Kleos, Mentormatic, Yummy Kitchen, Yesim, The Republic, HJS Insurance and UNIKI.

Media enquiries
Gala Grigoreva, Co-organiser+357 97 786889