Young Talent Academy $1,500 + VAT Buy Now

The Young Talent Academy

The academy is open to professionals aged 30 and under working in Saudi Arabia’s creative and marketing industry who want to advance to the next level in their careers. Each academy brings the world’s most inspiring speakers to share their experience, expertise and creativity with participants.

Why apply


Expand your network: Surround yourself with a community of inspiring leaders and like-minded peers, who will inspire and motivate you to push boundaries, think outside the box, and create truly remarkable work

Stay ahead of the curve: Gain the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in your field. Invest in yourself and watch your career soar!

Unlock your creative potential: Explore opportunities to challenge the traditional norms and discover innovative ways to solve creative challenges. Be ready to push out of your comfort zone to help you grow both personally and professionally

Be recognised in the industry: Embrace the opportunity to challenge other young creatives and have your work appraised by a jury of industry leaders. Build confidence and raise the bar for creative excellence

“Leveraging the deep understanding of cultural nuances and incorporating them with mastery of art, copywriting, and technology, in order to deliver impactful solutions for brands.”

Rayyan Aoun
Executive Creative Director
Wunderman Thompson KSA

Young Talent Academy Timeline

Important Information

  • This pass is for working professionals 30 and under with at least 1 year of working experience in the creative and marketing industry
  • Applicants should have a good grasp of the English language – all academies take place in English and require discussion and collaboration
  • Before committing to attend the Athar Young Talent Academy, it is crucial to obtain approval from your employer and ensure that you have no conflicting prior commitments
  • Applicants must be based in KSA, with a working/residence visa. Any nationalities may apply

*Please note the programme may subject to change at organisation discretion

Monday 13 November

  • Registration
  • Keynote sessions
  • Hack brief & Team allocations
  • Hack workshopping

Tuesday 14 November

  • Keynote sessions
  • Hack workshopping
  • Hack submissions

Wednesday 15 November

  • Team presentations
  • Winner announcements

  • Accommodation and travel expenses will need to be borne by the applicant. The academy will take place at Hotel Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC
  • The Young Athar pass for the two days of the Athar Festival, which includes lunch & refreshments on Academy days, content and networking opportunities (only winning teams will receive a seat at the Athar Industry Awards on 16 November to collect their trophies)

Young Talent Academies 2023

Academy Overview:
Future focussed design is pivotal in driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of the design world. Deep dive into case studies of groundbreaking design concepts that will ignite how you approach design in various fields. You will explore innovative solutions for shifting audience demands and identifying, pinpointing and understanding the needs of the consumer during the design process.
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Academy Overview:
Be inspired by a new approach to collaboration that consistently fuels inspiration. Learn how agency-clients can co-create to find powerful insights that lead to disruptive ideas. In this academy, you will learn how to ask the right questions to uncover hidden opportunities, embrace co-creative mindset leveraging combined expertise, and how to foster agency-client relationships that challenge norms and embraces fresh perspectives and innovative ideas
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Academy Overview:
From start to finish, a marketing plan integrates different marketing channels to create a seamless customer journey. Explore ways on how cross promotion across various mediums can reinforce the brand message and optimise audience engagement. In this academy, you will learn how to strategically select both traditional and digital channels based on the audience and campaign goals, measure the effectiveness of each communication channel, leverage the capabilities of  future centric mediums and how to integrate  them to the marketing mix.
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Academy Overview:
Resilient brands possess certain key qualities that enable them to withstand and navigate through various challenges and disruptions. These brands have a strong consumer-centric focus and strive to understand their preferences, behaviours, and expectations. In this academy, you will look at consumer behaviour, market trends and competitor strategies to refine your brand strategy, track the effectiveness of your efforts, and build trust and brand equity.
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Academy Overview:
Today consumers want their brands to address challenges and contribute to positive change.  PR plays a critical role in managing and enhancing a brand’s reputation. Led by industry experts, you will learn how purpose-driven PR initiatives build trust and credibility and shape public perception.