Athar Festival underscores Saudi youth’s creative potential with its Young Talent Academies

The inaugural edition of Athar – Saudi Festival of Creativity, the largest gathering of the creative marketing industry in the Kingdom that recognises and celebrates local creativity, set to take place from 13–16 November 2023 at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC, is gearing up to empower the next generation of young Saudi innovators as drivers of a future-forward economy. 

Athar Festival is all set to host a three-day Young Talent Academy programme which will run parallel with the festival from 13-15 November. The landmark event features 6 Young Talent Academies, each addressing different creative marketing subjects, giving students and rising professionals a chance to discover the latest developments within the field. The programme includes curated masterclasses by industry experts, workshops as well as engaging sessions, all designed to empower participants and propel them to the next stage of their creative and marketing careers. With copywriting, branding & design, innovation, amongst the academies’ topics, the programme strives to uplift young talent into becoming the future leaders of tomorrow.

With limited places available per academy, the programme offers young creatives an invaluable networking opportunity to maximize their impact and career trajectories alongside like-minded peers. The academies are open to both professionals working in Saudi Arabia’s creative and marketing industry as well as students pursuing a degree in these fields, aged 30 and under. The programme will culminate in an academy-wide 24-hour hack competition with each winning team being recognised at the Athar Awards gala dinner.

“In an era of unprecedented vision and progress under Vision 2030 that has thrust the Kingdom into the international spotlight, this initiative aims to bring Saudi Arabia’s award-winners of tomorrow closer than ever before to creative industry movers and shakers from around the world”, said Ian Fairservice, Chairman of Athar Festival and Managing Partner & Group Editor-in-Chief of Motivate Media Group. 

Mohamed Al Ayed, Vice Chairman of Athar Festival and CEO of TRACCS said, “The academies will help young talent gain the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their field and unlock their creative potential to find innovative solutions for tomorrow’s challenges. Ultimately, we aspire to inspire and initiate an enduring culture of collaborative innovation and hope to see academy participants return in future editions as leaders, mentors, and speakers in their own right.”

The programme will be led by Athar Festival’s Academy Leaders – a team of industry professionals and subject matter experts dedicated to equipping participants with the tools needed to excel in their disciplines. The academies will be conducted in collaboration with esteemed partners TRACCS, Saudi Ad School, and Getty Images.

Young Talent Academy Leaders include: Will Awdry, Coach, Consultant and Writer; Warren Knight, CEO of Think Digital First; Jessica Avedikian, Founder and Consultant of Social Astronauts, Walid Elshishini, Founder and Creative Director of Memark; Rami Abbas, Director of Strategy and Development at TRACCS; Samer Allouzi, Senior Communications Director at TRACCS and Yaz Ghon, Head of Creative at KickAds.

Registration for the academies is open with limited seats available. For more information, visit: atharfestival.com/the-young-talent-academy

-Ends-