After the successful launch last year of the 1st Dubai Lynx, the Middle East and North Africa Advertising Awards for Creative Excellence, the organisers will extend the competition to a 3-day Festival in 2008.

The 1st Dubai International Advertising Festival will take place from 31 March to 2 April 2008 in the Sheikh Rashid Hall at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, U.A.E. Presented by the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival together with their regional partners, Motivate Publishing, the Dubai International Advertising Festival is held with the support of Dubai Media City ( DMC ) and in association with the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).

The Festival will include a seminar programme featuring top international speakers, a series of topical workshops, exhibitions and screenings of the competing work and will culminate in the 2nd Dubai Lynx awards on the evening of 2 April.

Philip Thomas , CEO of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, said, 'We are hugely excited to be working with the creative community in the Middle East and North Africa to generate a great networking platform, as well as helping to raise the creative bar in the region. After last year's overwhelming response to the awards, we are in no doubt that the region will embrace the idea of a fully-fledged Festival.'

'To complement the Dubai Lynx awards and to bring to the Festival an extraordinary learning experience, we will be introducing a fantastic line-up of seminars and workshops presented by a host of leading international and regional industry figures to focus on topical issues. We'll also be launching a Young Creative Print Competition and adding a Media category to the competition', commented Steve Lane, the recently appointed Festival Director.