Ireland’s brightest young creative professionals gathered today for the official briefing of the 2026 Irish Young Lions Competition, where teams from agencies and brands will compete for the opportunity to represent Ireland at the global Young Lions competition in Cannes this June.
IAPI, the business representative organisation for the creative and communications industry, has partnered with Media Literacy Ireland as the official client for this year’s competition. Participants have been challenged to develop innovative communications campaigns that support Media Literacy Ireland’s mission to empower people across Ireland with the skills to critically engage with media in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
Over the course of the weekend, competitors across seven categories — Print, Media, Public Relations, Film, Digital, Design and Young Marketers — will work under intense time pressure to produce world-class creative responses.
Tackling misinformation online among those aged 55 and over is one of the key themes to be addressed by participants this year. Teams have been tasked with crafting a campaign to educate consumers on the importance of questioning and verifying the content they consume online, particularly in the context of the rapid growth of AI-generated content and the proliferation of misleading information.
Media Literacy Ireland is an informal alliance of individuals and organisations that work together on a mainly voluntary basis to promote media literacy in Ireland. Facilitated by Coimisiún na Meán, the alliance has more than 250 members drawn from a broad range of sectors including education, media, online platforms, libraries and community organisations.
Winning teams will receive the opportunity to represent Ireland at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2026, widely regarded as the most prestigious global gathering for the creative communications industry.
Siobhán Masterson, CEO of IAPI, said the competition highlights the industry’s ability to respond to emerging societal challenges.
“IAPI looks forward to showcasing the exceptional ideas generated by this year’s competitors and the meaningful impact their campaigns could have in advancing media literacy across Ireland,” she said.
“This is a strong example of the role the creative and communications industry can play in addressing emerging challenges linked to the growth of AI-generated content and misinformation online. We are delighted to have partnered with Media Literacy Ireland for this year’s competition.”
IAPI’s Young Lions competition is supported by Smurfit Westrock.
