Terms and Conditions for Participating in the Young Professionals Academy Programmes & Competitions
Eligibility
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Age Requirements: Participants in the Young Pitcher Competition must be 30 years old or younger by May 17, 2025. For the Young Lions Competitions, participants must remain 30 or younger by June 20, 2025.
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Student Participation: Students are not eligible for the Young Professionals Academy.
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Proof of Age: Participants must provide acceptable proof of date of birth. Submission of false documents will result in disqualification at any stage.
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Entry Fee
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Registration: Competitors must register for the Young Professionals Academy, which costs USD 50 (or the equivalent in Naira at the time of payment). This fee covers participation in the competitions.
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Competition Guidelines
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Timelines and Format: Stick to the prescribed timelines and formats for submissions. Extensions or concessions are not allowed and can lead to disqualification.
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Neutral Platform: The competition aims to maintain fairness and neutrality for all participants.
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Submission Format: Please follow the submission instructions and file formats specified in your brief for each category. Entries that do not submit specified formats may not be considered by the judges.
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Competition Results
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Jury: Results are determined by a jury from reputable organizations. The organizers provide administrative support but do not influence the outcomes.
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Final Verdict: By entering, participants agree to accept the jury’s decision as final.
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Timing
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Announcements: Exact timings for the competitions will be announced later. Winners will be revealed during a special entry review session, where participants can discuss results with the jurors.
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Accommodation
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Virtual Process: The 2025 competitions will be held virtually, so no travel or accommodation arrangements are needed. If this changes, participants will be responsible for their own accommodation.
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Code of Conduct
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Professional Behavior: All participants are expected to maintain professional behavior throughout the competition. Any form of harassment, discrimination, or inappropriate conduct will result in immediate disqualification.
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Collaboration: Participants should respect their peers and foster a collaborative environment, even in competitive settings.
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Intellectual Property
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Original Work: All submissions must be original and created by the participants. Plagiarism or use of copyrighted material without permission will lead to disqualification.
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Rights: By entering the competition, participants grant the organizers the right to use their submissions for promotional purposes.
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Technical Requirements
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Submission Format: Please follow the submission instructions and file formats specified in your brief for each category. Entries that do not submit specified formats may not be considered by the judges.
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Feedback
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Post-Competition Feedback: The judges will provide feedback on
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entries. However, due to logistics reasons, for very large categories, the feedback may not be on each work but based on their general appraisal of all materials submitted.
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​Health and Safety
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Virtual Participation: It is important to maintain a healthy work-life balance during the virtual sessions and competitions to avoid burnout.
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PARTICIPATING IN YOUNG LIONS GLOBAL COMPETITION
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Winning Teams
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Enrollment: Competitors may choose to enroll in the national Young Lions Competition alongside the Young Pitcher Competitions.
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Young Pitcher: This is an individual competition, and the winner is the overall best performer across the African continent in each category.
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Young Lions: The winning team in each category will be crowned champions for their country and will have the opportunity to represent their country at the international finals as part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2025.
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National Basis: Young Lions Competitions are conducted on a national basis. If your country has a national competition, you will need to qualify through that process.
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National Competition Goals
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Fair Process: The main goal is to narrow down interest to participating in the international competition to only one team per category per eligible country for 2025 through a fair and transparent process.
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Winner Clarification: The winner is the team that has performed the best in each category according to the jury and has obtained leave and the necessary sponsorship to participate in the global competition in France.
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Conditions: If the "winner clarification" conditions above are not met or if the team does not possess international passports or other required travel documents, the organizers reserve the right to select the next most qualified team as the winner, even after an initial announcement has been made.
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Sponsorship
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Flag Bearer: After winning the national Young Lions Competition, the winning team becomes their country’s flag bearer, and their employer becomes their sponsor.
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Third-Party Sponsor: It is acceptable for the employer to provide a third-party sponsor.
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In-Person Competition: The competition will be held in-person in Cannes in 2025.
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Estimated Cost: The cost of sending a team to Cannes for the competition is estimated at about EUR 10,000. However, this cost may differ due to logistics or the location of the participants.
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Accommodation in Cannes
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Standard Practice: Accommodation is typically provided in a 2/3-star hotel or similar studio accommodation for team members.
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Shared Accommodation: Where shared accommodation is opted for, teammates of the same gender will be assigned the same twin-room. Where teammates belong to opposite genders, they will be assigned to twin-rooms with other competitors of the same gender.
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Rules and Changes
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Guidance: The international competition is guided by the rules of the Young Lions Competition of Cannes Lions and the rules of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in general.
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Changes: Changes to programme rules, timelines, structure, and fees are subject to change without prior notice.
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