Comprising of young professionals in the brand communications industry across Africa and the Middle East (typically under 30 years old).

The LYC was set up in 2021 in partnership with Meta and UN Women with the aim of supporting young brand communication professionals from Africa and the Middle East with knowledge, training and the opportunity to create real change in the industry.

Rewrite the Script launched in 2022 with the first DE&I checklist, a tool to assist the industry to craft more inclusive, honest, people-first creative work by ensuring that diverse voices are authentically represented from brief to execution.

The 2023 Loeries Youth Committee is building on this.

“We want to take this further, to the next level,” says LYC member and marketing executive at Topco Media Alexander Kotchoubei.

The LYC has launched a new video it hopes will spark the conversation around DE&I. It also has recorded the first of a five-part series of podcasts on DE&I.

LYC member and account director at Saatchi & Saatchi, Kgantshe Tau says that the podcasts are an extension of the DE&I campaign launch in 2023.

“This is a continuation of the campaign from last year. We are building on the idea and bolstering it by having conversations through our podcasts,” adds Tau.

The first podcast focuses on an interview by the LYC with an industry thought leader. The next three podcasts will be interviews with the LYC and the last podcast will feature another interview with an industry thought leader. While the podcast address DE&I in the industry, they also serve to remind the industry of the checklist and to encourage them to use the checklist.

The objectives of the campaign are:

• awareness
• education
• uptake / participation
• advocacy/positive engagement, and
• impact.

Research compiled by the Loeries on gender representation in film advertising showed that despite the progress by the industry, gender stereotypes are still creeping into the work.

For example, one set of results highlighted that on average, men dominated 61% of speaking time and 57% of screen time, compared to their female counterparts.

“While DEI is already integrated into the Loeries, the checklist is a guideline for creatives and the industry to ensure their work is in line with DE&I. The checklist is a tool to assist with awareness,” concludes Tau.

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