SA schools get opportunity to enter Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity 2015

The competition looks to nurture creativity within schools and create a platform for talented youths to promote their skills and be noticed by some of the industry's most talented professionals.

Refining skills

The competition requires entrants to create one print ad and one activation or social media idea in response to a brief set out by Smartlife, a not-for-profit, social club registered with the Community Development Authority, Government of Dubai.

Through learning and fundraising programmes, Smartlife works to provide opportunities for the children of blue-collar workers in Dubai to get an education and fulfil their dreams. The inaugural challenge asks students to produce a print or poster campaign that should enable people to empathise with the labourers and their children and persuade them to donate to Smartlife's SAPNA Fund. The brief encourages students to communicate the message that this fund "Helps build the dreams of the ones who build our cities, our homes and our dreams."

Speaking on behalf of official sponsor FP7, Sasan Saeidi, MD FP7/DXB says, "High achieving young talent is what we as an industry need more than anything today. Our future success is dependent on the quality of people we bring into it. We need a passionate and young at heart workforce and we feel schools are the very foundation of this source. We aim to work harder with the Ministry of Education, IAA and Dubai Lynx to further develop programmes to harness talent early on."

The judges

Presiding over the jury for student competitions, which also include the Masar Student Creative Award for Print and the Dubai Lynx Integrated Student Award, is Ramsey Naja, Chief Creative Officer, JWT MEA. He and his panel of experts will assess the creative component while ensuring that the entry meets the criteria laid out in the brief.

Submissions that have been shortlisted will be exhibited at the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity. Winners will be awarded at a special student presentation during the Festival.

Students from the following countries are eligible to enter the competition:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Kenya, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, West Bank & Gaza, Western Sahara, Yemen.

For the brief in full, rules and further information about the competition, go to www.dubailynx.com/enter/school_awards/overview/.