MANILA – Matthew Reysio-Cruz, 4th year BA Journalism student at UP Diliman is joining the Philippine delegates to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France after winning the first ever Michael König Young Journalist Bursary, besting all other aspiring student journalists from around the world.
The Michael König Young Journalist Bursary was launched in honor of the German Journalist, Michael König, who passed away at Cannes Lions 2015. “Each year it offers a budding young journalist the ultimate Cannes Lions programme. Tailored to maximise opportunity and networking, the programme will offer a career kick-start across a diverse mix of media including print, digital and broadcast,” said in a press release sent by the Lions Organization.
A scholar of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), the country’s official representative to Cannes Lions, Cruz was given the opportunity to be recommended by the news outlet for the prestigious internship in France.
“I really thought it ’s a once in a lifetime opportunity so why not go for it,” says Cruz in an interview with adobo.
To qualify for the award, Cruz and other competitors were asked to submit a 500-word essay about the state of the creative communications industry in their respective countries with an accompanying recommendation letter from a tutor or lecturer.
As the recipient of the award, Cruz will take part in a tailored eight-day programme that includes reporting for the Lions Daily News (the official Festival magazine), shadowing the reporters of USA trade magazine, Ad Age, working with Cannes Lions TV, reporting for the See It Be It programme and interview opportunities with high-profile figures.
“I’m expecting to meet a lot of different companies, be able to learn how they work, really be able to participate in what they do,” shares Cruz. “It’s such a different perspective and context in France than in the Philippines where I’ve been learning journalism.”
Cruz will also have the chance to listen to more than a hundred speakers coming from different fields around the world and build a network with more than 650 journalists from 51 countries and other experts in the field of advertising, marketing, design, and more.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is happening on June 18-25 at Cannes, France.
Watch our interview with Matthew Reysio-Cruz:
