Cannes Young Lions 2022 Competition Charities Revealed

Nearly 170 young agency and client talent will be competing this weekend in the return of the IAPI Cannes Young Lions national competition. They will be seeking to represent Ireland across the categories of Print, Media, Public Relations, Film, Digital, Design and Young Marketer in the Global Young Lions taking place in May/June 2022.

At today’s charity briefings IAPI unveiled details of the different organisations that are benefitting from this year’s competition. They include Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the chosen charity for the Film and Media categories.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has been at the forefront of the Irish response to sexual violence for more than 40 years. The Young Lions have been tasked with addressing the people’s understanding of consent. Sarah Monaghan, Consent Project Manager, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said “A National conversation on Consent is an essential element in creating a future where sexual violence is not tolerated and where consent, equality and respect is understood as the backbone for our healthy relationships. We in Dublin Rape Crisis Centre are truly honoured and grateful to have been selected for the Cannes Young Lions competition. Our research is clear that people in Ireland know we have a problem with consent but are not clear on the role we can all play in shaping an Ireland that says yes to consent. So this is an incredible opportunity to work with the industry's best young minds to get that consent message out there." 

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, meanwhile, is the chosen charity for the Young Marketers, Print and Design categories. Since their foundation in 2004, SEI has supported more than 500 social entrepreneurs across the country. Alumni of SEI include FoodCloud, AsIAm and the Irish Men’s Shed Association. 

The Young Lions have been asked to raise awareness of SEI and in particular their SEI Spark Programme which is designed to make social entrepreneurship accessible to people from all backgrounds, with a particular focus on people from under-represented and marginalized communities. Tim Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer,  Social Entrepreneurs Ireland said “Social Entrepreneurs Ireland are delighted to be chosen as one of the charity partners for the IAPI Cannes Young Lions competition. We are excited to see the creativity and passion that will no doubt shine through in all entries, and we wish the best of luck to all involved.”

The Open Community, which has been selected for the Digital and PR categories. Their Community Sponsorship programme is a sustainable and inspiring way for people in Ireland to welcome refugees and offers the chance to make a real difference to people affected by war and persecution. The Young Lions brief is to inspire greater awareness and engagement. 

Charley Stoney, CEO, IAPI commented: “It is so exciting to bring back the Cannes Young Lions competition for young Irish talent this year.  The charities chosen carry out such important work so it’s also very rewarding to provide them with a plethora of ideas to help them raise awareness and much needed support and funds.  Thank you to Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and Open Community for taking part and providing such challenging and interesting briefs.  Most importantly, good luck to Team Ireland and I can’t wait to see their entries!”

The sponsors and partners of this year’s competition include DMG Media, Radiocentre Ireland, PRII, PRCA, Pull the Trigger, Sky Media Ireland, Meta, Smurfit Kappa and Core.

The competition winners will be provided with an all-expenses paid trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 20th – 24th June 2022 to represent Ireland. This will include a Young Lions full week festival pass, flights Dublin/Nice, accommodation, and access to all the Cannes seminars, award ceremonies, showcases and material.  Shortlisted teams will be revealed in March.