Here are the complete rules to participate in the Young Lions Competition of ASCAP and LA NACIÓN 2008. If you are between 18 and 28, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Rules

1. The YOUNG LIONS Competition belongs to the Cannes Lions International Organization.
2. The Costa Rican Association of Advertising Agencies (hereinafter known as ASCAP), registration number 3-002-056978 is the representative of the Cannes Lions Festival 2008, in Costa Rica.
3. ASCAP and LA NACIÓN are the organizers of the Young Lions Contest in Costa Rica. This contest will be promoted throughout the country and its purpose is to choose a creative duo (a working group composed of two people) that will travel to France in June 2008, with the conditions set forth below, to participate in the Young Lions 2008 World Contest, specifically in the area of GRAPHICS.
4. The international regulations of CANNES LIONS and YOUNG LIONS are considered part of these rules.
5. As a first requirement, before participating, the participants must know and accept these rules in their entirety; if one or more faults are found, they will be disqualified from the contest.
6. Those who wish to participate in Young Lions Costa Rica must meet, at a minimum, the following requirements:
   • A) Be Costa Rican or resident in the country, older than 18 years old and younger than 28 years old, as of June 30, 2008.
   • B) At least one member of each participating group must have advanced knowledge of the English language, since the Cannes Film Festival is held entirely in that language.
   • C) Have advanced knowledge of Macintosh design programs (Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, mainly).
   • D) Have the necessary documentation to travel to France.
   • E) Not have any impediment, legal or otherwise, to leave the country.
   • F) Be available to travel, at least, between June 15 and June 21, 2008 to represent Costa Rica in the Young Lions International Contest (travel dates may vary due to the travel time of the participants).
   • G) Work in pairs: one person specialized in DESIGN and the other in CREATIVITY. Under no circumstances will individual work or work in groups of more than two people be allowed.
   • H) The same person is not allowed to register more than once.
7. THE NATION and ASCAP will begin the massive promotion of this contest on April 4th, 2008. From this date onwards, interested persons must register for the contest, following these indications:
   • A) Enter www.nacion.com
   • B) Go to the banner identified as: YOUNG LIONS CONTEST 2008 and click on it.
   • C) Follow the instructions on the page to register (the registration deadline is April 18, 2008).
8. Each participant must upload the following data to www.nacion.com:
   • a) Full name of each participant (name and two surnames).
   • b) Identification document of each participant (identity card number or residency document).
   • c) The specialty of each participant.
   • d) Age in years completed.
   • e) Complete education obtained at the time of registration. If you are studying, indicate the institution and the level you are studying.
   • f) E-mail addresses where each participant can be reached.
   • g) Telephone numbers of each participant.
   • h) Upload the three best works of the duo (if they have never worked together, the three best works of each participant), in JPG, PDF, TIFT, BMP format (choose one), maximum weight: 2 megabytes each file.
   • i) Mention, if they work, the company where they work.
9. THE NATION and ASCAP will carry out a first scrutiny of the samples received, and will choose TWENTY-FIVE teams to move on to the second round of the Contest. For the election, THE NATION and ASCAP will integrate a National Jury, composed of a Duo (designer and creative) from each ASCAP associated agency that can collaborate. The Jury will meet to make this choice. The Jury has internal Judging Regulations, which it undertakes to comply with. The Jury will reserve the right to choose more Duos for the second round, if the quality of the works deserves it; up to a maximum of THIRTY Duos.
10. The teams that pass to the second phase will be summoned for Friday, April 25, 2008, at 17:00 hours, in the Manuel Jiménez Borbón auditorium at La Nación, in Llorente de Tibás. In this event, LA NACIÓN and ASCAP will deliver the first work brief to the participating teams and will clarify any doubts that may arise. The work to be done will be in the GRAPHIC area.
11. The teams will work during the weekend on this first brief with their own resources and must deliver the proposals on April 28th until 5:00 pm. The finished work must be sent by mail and in high resolution JPEG format to the address young.lions.cr@ascap.co.cr. No work will be received after exactly 5:00 p.m. on April 28, 2008, from the end of the meeting for the delivery of Briefs.
12. Once the GRAPHIC works have been received, THE NATION and ASCAP will summon again the national jury, who will meet to choose, from their highest creative and production criteria, the TEN BEST WORKS. The ten works chosen will be the FINALISTS of the contest.
13. The finalists of the contest will be summoned again in the auditorium of LA NACIÓN, on Friday, May 2, 2008. At this event, they will be given a second work Brief and any doubts will be clarified. The second Brief will be worked on under different conditions than those of the first phase of the contest:
    • a) On Friday, May 2, 2008, participants must report to the Manuel Jiménez Borbón auditorium at La Nación at 9:00 a.m. and will receive the second brief, on which they will work on Friday, May 2 (with their own resources) and Saturday, May 3 (from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the LA NACION auditorium).
    • b) Third parties outside the duo will not be allowed to manipulate or intervene in any way in the participating work. Violation of this rule will be sanctioned with disqualification.
    • c) THE NATION and ASCAP will have one or more inspectors to audit that the work is carried out in accordance with these rules.
    • d) In the event that a duo needs to leave the Auditorium facilities, they must request permission from the representative of THE NATION and ASCAP who is closest to them. Neither one nor both members of the duo may leave without permission, as this would result in disqualification.
    • e) The finished work must be submitted in high resolution JPG format, burned on a CD in DIGITAL format, high resolution JPG, to the representative of THE NATION and ASCAP present at the event, or sent to the address young.lions.cr@ascap.co.cr, no later than 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 3rd.
14. Each participant must MAKE SURE that the file has been correctly received by the organizers and that it is perfectly accessible; THE NATION and ASCAP will not assume any responsibility for delays in delivered works, or for works that cannot be reviewed.
15. Participants must submit works that respond to the strategy requested; they may not vary the objectives or any other aspect, as their works will be disqualified. Additional support materials will only be allowed when it is necessary to explain the piece for reasons related to the idiosyncrasy of the country.
16. For the qualification of the ten finalist works, THE NATION and ASCAP will integrate an INTERNATIONAL JURY, composed of at least FIVE creative and art directors from internationally renowned agencies. The organizers will send to the jurors all the participating material (the 10 finalist works) so that they may choose, in their opinion, the three best strategies developed, according to creativity and advertising production in the graphic area. The winning team will be the one whose work receives the most votes from the international jury.
17. The international jury will choose two additional entries as second and third place. In the event that the first place winning team, for any reason, is not able to pay the prize, the second place team will replace it, or the third place team will pay the prize if the second place team is also unable to do so. The deadline for THE NATION and ASCAP to receive the votes of the International Jury is Tuesday, May 13, 2008.
18. The decision of all the jurors will be secret and unappealable. Only two persons from ASCAP and two persons from THE NATION will know the scores, in order to tabulate them.
19. THE NATION and ASCAP will announce the winning team through mass media. The official award ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 15, 2008, in the Manuel Jiménez Borbón auditorium at La Nación, in Llorente de Tibás, starting at 2:00 pm.
20. The winning team will receive as a prize a trip to Cannes, France, to represent Costa Rica at the 2008 Cannes Festival in the Young Lions Graphics Competition, for which they must have at least one week of time: from June 15 to June 21 (plus travel time). As mentioned in the participation requirements, the winners must have the necessary documents and permits to leave the country to arrive in France.
21. THE NATION and ASCAP will inform in due time the specifics of the trip, which will include: round trip air transportation from Costa Rica to France, basic lodging and the registration in the Young Lions 2008 World Contest (the registration in the contest will be according to the modality that THE NATION and ASCAP decide). 800 euros will be provided to each member of the traveling team to cover travel, food and other travel expenses. Any additional expenses incurred by the winning team in France must be covered by the per diem they will receive as part of the prize or by their own means, since THE NATION and ASCAP will not reimburse any additional amount beyond the aforementioned amount.
22. THE NATION and ASCAP will contract a travel insurance policy for the winning team, with the conditions that will be made known in due time. Expenses not covered by the policy shall be borne by the person who needs to use the services. It is understood that the persons who will make the trip are of legal age, so they will be responsible for their actions throughout the trip. The organizers of this event will not assume any responsibility for their actions. The airline, the hotel in the country of destination, the Cannes Lions organization and any other company subcontracted to provide the prize may take whatever measures they deem necessary to ensure that the winners comply with the disciplinary rules, including measures that include suspension or expulsion from the winning team, as a sanction for the misconduct committed.
23. For these rules to become effective, they must be accessible at www.nacion.com. Participants agree to read this document carefully and to accept its terms and conditions before registering.
24. Any situation that may arise, not contemplated in these rules, shall be resolved by THE NATION and ASCAP in the best way possible, without contravening the legislation in force.
25. The publication rights of all participating works will belong exclusively to GRUPO NACIÓN GN, S.A. and the participants expressly waive any remuneration for the use and diffusion, in any mass media, of the advertising pieces produced by them.
26. For further information and inquiries, interested parties may write to young.lions.cr@ascap.co.cr or call ASCAP at 2209-7740.