Lebanon celebrates the participation of two young Lebanese rising stars in the Cannes Lions Festival
For the fourth consecutive year, Executive Magazine—country representative of the Cannes Lions Festival—celebrates the return of a young and talented Lebanese team, this year Youssef Yammine and Vera Karam from Mirum Agency, who represented Lebanon in the Cannes Lions Festival, held from June 17 to 22. Youssef and Vera attended and competed in the Young Lions Print Competition.
The competition called upon creative professionals under the age of 30 from around the world to submit a print ad for Creative Spirits, a nonprofit organization devoted to creating integrated employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the best companies around the world.
With 38 teams competing, Vera and Youssef were challenged to develop a creative, innovative, and captivating print ad to help Creative Spirits achieve their goal of attracting candidates with intellectual and developmental disabilities to a large number of available job positions in the United States across a large variety of professions.
Youssef shared his enthusiasm with the experience, saying: “The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is the most inspiring creative festival. Every person in the advertising industry deserves this experience because when you come here you learn, you play, and you make connections. Personally, I’ll work very hard every year to come here again and represent the agency I work for and present work that I am proud of.”
Karam also expressed her appreciation. “The experience is really challenging for someone at the age of 23. I met really interesting and successful people from the industry and learned a lot from them, and I think that will help me in my career.”
Mr. Yasser Akkaoui, managing director of Executive Magazine, saying, “When considering the important role that creativity plays in our economy, we realize that it is imperative to figure out ways to stimulate and nurture young creative talents. The Cannes Lions Festival will surely sharpen the skills of our young Lebanese and help them achieve their best.”
Our most heartfelt thanks to all of our sponsors and partners: the International Advertising Association Lebanon Chapter, Advertising Association, Fortune Promoseven, Impact BBDO, Intermarkets Advertising, J. Walter Thompson, M&C Saatchi, Memac Ogilvy, Pimo, Young & Rubicam Lebanon, the American University of Beirut, and Air France.
Identifying, instigating, and rewarding young creative talents will always report a priority for Executive Magazine. Young talents have the power to shape the future and deserve the chance to develop and fulfill their potential. Our devotion to encouraging and nurturing artistic talent will continue to go above and beyond national efforts.