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The 2025 Irish Young Lions competition officially launched on Wednesday 22 January, attracting over 200 industry professionals to the Lighthouse Cinema. The highly anticipated event featured insightful presentations, plus a dynamic panel discussion with valuable contributions from the category sponsors. Charley Stoney, CEO, IAPI, kicked off the event as one of her last before she begins her new role as CEO of the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA).

Katherine Ryan, programme director, IAPI, then opened the morning’s presentations with inspirational stories from past winners, including participants who have gone on to win global awards following their turns as Young Lions. Nico Dagdag, account manager, OMD Ireland, was next to take the stage, sharing his experience as a former Digital Young Lions competitor – giving some brilliant advice as someone who has real-life experience of the competition.

Stephen Rogers, creative director, Droga5 Dublin, followed, providing lots of creative vision to this year’s cohort. Speaking on Cannes Young Lions, he said, “You have a unique and exciting opportunity to represent your country on the world stage - great ideas win at Young Lions, don’t stick to trends, stay true to yourself and your team, and most importantly, enjoy every second!”.

A panel discussion followed, featuring category sponsors – Max Brady, executive producer, Bodacious; Lorcan Hanlon, group chief commercial and revenue officer, Business Post Group; Sinead Gill, director, PR and media relations, Smurfit Westrock and Stephen Rogers, creative director, Droga5 Dublin.

Moderated by Sophie Carey, communications and project manager, IAPI, the panel delved into the nuances of this year's competition, offering tips for crafting compelling entries and shedding light on the elements that will catch the judges' eye.

The category sponsors, representing diverse sectors of the industry, echoed their commitment to fostering creativity and excellence. Speaking on their involvement this year; Max Brady, executive producer, Bodacious said, “As always, Bodacious are excited and proud to be part of IAPI’s Cannes Young Lions. Seeing the passion and creativity of the younger community in our industry is inspiring and encouraging.  Every year our young creatives turn in fabulous work, that makes us think and consider new lenses applied to communication issues - we look forward to seeing your 2025 submissions.”

For detailed information on the 2025 Cannes Young Lions competition, including entry guidelines, registration information and deadlines, please visit the IAPI website .

The Irish Young Lions competition will run from February 21st to 23rd, with registrations closing on February 19th. For more queries on the competitions this year, get in touch with sophie@iapi.com.

With thanks to the 2025 sponsors: ; ; ; ; and .