IAPI has launched the 2025 Irish Young Lions competition with over 200 industry professionals attending this week’s launch in The Lighthouse Cinema.
The winners will get to represent Ireland in the annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in the south of France this year.
The event revolved around a number of presentations and a panel discussion with outgoing CEO Charley Stoney addressing the audience 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 sound 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 & revenue officer, Business Post Group; Sinead Gill, director, PR & media relations, Smurfit Westrock and Stephen Rogers, creative director, Droga5 Dublin.
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.
