Gambit Communications wins PRCA MENA Young Lions PR Competition

PRCA MENA – the region’s official representative of the Young Lions PR Competition – has revealed the winners of the PRCA MENA Young Lions PR Competition 2026, following a highly competitive edition that brought together some of the region’s most promising communications talent.  

This year’s competition witnessed 27 teams from across the region take part, responding to a live brief set in partnership with Smart Life Foundation.

Participants were challenged to develop a fully integrated PR campaign within a 24-hour window, testing their ability to think strategically, creatively, and under pressure. 

 After a closely contested process, Alaa Arnaout and Jana Bunni from Dubai-based Gambit Communications were named winners of the 2026 edition.

The team stood out for strength of insight, clarity of strategy and quality of execution and will go on to represent the region at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

Entries were evaluated by a panel of 11 of the senior-most communications professionals, including:  

1. Khaled AlShehhi, PRCA MENA Advisory Board Member & Executive Director Marketing Communications, UAE Government Media Office 
2. Nick Sandham, PRCA MENA Advisory Board Member & VP Corporate Communications, Alshaya Group 
3. Ahmad Itani, PRCA MENA Advisory Board Chair & Founder & CEO, Cicero & Bernay 
4. Imad Lahad, PRCA MENA Strategy Board Chair & Global Chair ‘AI & Intelligence’, APCO
5. Peter Jacob, MD, Current Global MENAT 
6. David Kingsmill-Moore, PRCA MENA Strategy Board Member & MD, Edelman UAE 
7. Alice Walker, PRCA MENA Strategy Board Member & MD, Four Agency 
8. Sophie Simpson, PRCA MENA Strategy Board Member, MD, Ruder Finn Atteline 
9. Claire Micheletti, PRCA MENA Strategy Board Member & Founder & Joint MD, Cosmopole 
10. Loretta Ahmed, PRCA MENA Strategy Board Member & Founder & CEO, Houbara Communications 
11. Rex Prakash, Co-Founder, SmartLife Foundation 

Commenting on the competition, Conrad Egbert, Head of PRCA MENA, said, “The PRCA MENA Young Lions PR Competition continues to play an important role in not only identifying and supporting the next generation of PR professionals in the region but also elevating regional talent onto a global stage. Congratulations to all the teams who took part, and to the winners who will represent MENA at Cannes this summer.” 

Egbert concluded, “The PRCA MENA Young Lions PR Competition is the official qualifying competition in the region for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The initiative forms part of PRCA MENA’s wider commitment to developing emerging talent and raising standards across the communications industry.”