Cannes Lions to launch Dubai Lynx Awards

The annual Dubai Lynx awards will be managed and organised by the team responsible for the running of Cannes Lions and Eurobest Awards and will be held in association with the UAE Chapter of the IAA (International Advertising Association).

Entries will be invited from throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. Judging will take place in Dubai over 4 days, culminating in an awards dinner and ceremony on 19 March 2007.

Two juries, comprising of International leaders as well as top creatives from the region will judge the two different sections of entries. There will be one jury for TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor and Radio entries and a separate jury for Interactive and Direct Marketing entries, each headed by a jury president.

Commenting on the launch, Terry Savage, Executive Chairman of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival said:

"The Middle East and North Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in terms of advertising spend and creativity and the time is right for this region to have a premium awards event which will help raise the creative bar. We are delighted to have been approached by the IAA UAE Chapter to launch these regional awards, bringing to the event our organisational expertise."

Tanvir Kanji, President of the UAE Chapter of the IAA commented: "By holding the Dubai Lynx Awards in conjunction with the organisers of Cannes Lions, we are assured of neutrality, expertise and juries at the best level that we can get in the region. We expect these awards to become the standard for creative excellence in the Middle East and North Africa."

After the inaugural awards in 2007, the Dubai Lynx will be run in association with a new event "The Dubai International Advertising Festival" which will commence in 2008, bringing to the region a series of high profile seminars and other initiatives aimed at giving creative inspiration, learning and networking opportunities to people working in the region.

Also commenting on the launch of Dubai Lynx, Mohamed Al Mulla, Director of Dubai Media City said, "We are proud to support the event's efforts to recognise and foster global advertising excellence. Developing talent in the media industry is close to Dubai Media City's own heart. Promoting aspiration and achievement in the advertising industry is one of our key strategic objectives. The fruits of our efforts are evident in the successes of DMC's advertising segment, which is one of its most flourishing sectors. As Dubai gears up to host the region's first International Advertising Festival, we look forward to receiving the global advertising fraternity here."