Supporting young talents and offering them practical training
Beirut, 17 August 2016: Under the patronage of the Minister of Labor Sejaan Azzi, Fernand Hosri Group crowned the winning teams in the “Unleash Your Creativity” competition. This contest was launched by the Group in order to select the best marketing campaign for “Fisherman’s Friend”, which is the most famous extra strong candy brand in the town of Fleetwood in England and the first confectionary to receive the Queen’s Award for Exports. The ceremony, which was held in West Hall at Beirut Symposium in Sin el-Fil, was attended by the contestants and their families, as well as all prominent partners, who represent a number of advertising agencies in Lebanon and a crowd of journalists and media personnel.
“Unleash Your Creativity” enjoyed wide participation by marketing students from six Lebanese Universities; American University of Science and Technology (AUST), American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanese American University (LAU), Notre Dame University (NDU), Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and Saint-Joseph University (USJ). The participating students were divided into 50 teams, and all worked on a common Marketing Brief for Fisherman’s Friend. The 10 teams who made it to the semi-finals underwent three coaching sessions and had the opportunity to exhibit their projects from the 1st till the 6th of August in front of a jury, which included prominent names in the world of marketing and advertising, along with a representative of the Beirut Traders Association and a representative of Fernand Hosri Group. They carefully evaluated each project and selected 3 finalist groups.
The winning team that came in first place included Hadi Samaha and Samer Shamaa who won a trip to Scotland for an internship in Psona, Fisherman’s Friend’s advertising agency and the international full-service integrated agency that focuses on customer engagement through brand building. The team that came in second included Yasmina Trad and Sarah Ashkar Diab and was awarded an internship at J. Walter Thompson Beirut. As for the team that came in third, each of Maryline Mattar, Tracy Sawma, and Stephanie Mirza won an internship at Impact BBDO.
Minister of Labor Sejaan Azzi addressed the students and the youth in his speech, saying: “The spirit of excitement and competition with which you entered this competition promises a better Lebanon, one that is free, sovereign, independent and economically free. I hope that your university degrees will allow you to enter the workforce, but what is far more important is to support it with a sense of culture and experience in order to expand your horizons and achieve your dreams and ambitions. I am happy to take part in this celebration, along with Fernand Hosri Group which has a very valuable role in the Lebanese economy. I believe that it is a real example of an incredible reconciliation between the economy, finance, solidarity and a real humanitarian spirit”. Azzi also stressed on the important role played by the National Employment Office (NEO) in terms of securing jobs.
Through the “Unleash Your Creativity” competition, Fernand Hosri Group aims to involve young people in the world of employment, given that their involvement is essential to achieve sustainable development. Unfortunately, it is often the case that the opportunity for youth to engage economically or socially is inexistent. In this increasingly competitive international market, it is no longer enough for students to attain excellence from a disciplined technical point of view without hands on experience in the real world.
Ms. Carina Hosri Bostani, board member at Fernand Hosri Group, explained the objectives of the Group through launching this contest. She said, “I was taught to believe that organizations are defined not just by their size and worth, but mostly by the people behind them and the partners they make along the way. What started 50 years ago as a small enterprise in the automotive business by a visionary man who partnered with an exceptional woman, was carefully grown to become a multinational multidisciplinary company, but most importantly one that highly values Ethics, Respect and Integrity; one that believes we do not operate in a vacuum and that it is our duty to care for the world around us. Shortsightedly, the values inculcated by our founders are burdensome and very restrictive but certainly the only way for long term sustainability and growth. “Unleash your creativity” is a CSR initiative which aims at promoting sustainable development through building capacities and advancing young talents into the increasingly demanding work force through coaching and offering hands on experience”.
At the end of the ceremony, Minister Sejaan Azzi distributed honorary trophies to the six participating universities, in recognition of their efforts in capacity-building.