Today, we went public on our plans to mark our tenth anniversary, celebrating the significant impact mediation has had on commercial and public life in the last decade in Scotland.

We are holding a special dinner and I am delighted that former European Court of Justice judge and Calman Commission member, Sir David Edward QC, one of the most significant legal figures of modern times and a mediator himself, will be the guest of honour. David is a really good guy and he and I will be holding the latest of our Core Conversations!

David has a unique vantage point from which to survey problem-solving and the interplay of the justice system with the development of alternative processes. He is also one of the most inspiring, informed and interesting historians of the Scottish and international legal scene.

Core held its first event on 22 January 2001 and we have since carried out around 400 mediations and numerous training courses in a wide range of fields, cementing our position as the pre-eminent mediation business in Scotland.

The celebrations take place almost exactly ten years to the day since that first event: on Thursday 20 January 2011, we hold a Master Class in Negotiation and Mediation Strategies together with the Conversation with Sir David and Dinner that evening at Edinburghâ??s The Hub. It is appropriate that we return to The Hub, which was the venue for one of the highpoints of our ten years – the 2009 Master Class with William Ury of ‘Getting to Yes’ fame.

Reflecting on a decade of Core, we have learned and observed so much about how effective negotiators work – and how to make a difference in those really tough situations. We have experienced, in so many mediations, the power, effectiveness and occasionally the frustration of using a process which ten years ago had virtually no place in commercial negotiation in Scotland. It really has moved on.

I am also delighted that Jim Mather MSP, the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, and a strong supporter of new approaches to collaboration and conflict management, will also be a special guest. Music will be provided by The Red Hot Chilli Pipers….!