Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) for the second time running will be sponsoring the Nigerian qualifier to the 2011 Roger Hatchuel Academy award, even as registration for the annual event begins  next month.

A statement from the Council said, “ APCON has been collaborating with Chini Productions, Cannes Lions representatives in Nigeria to moderate the contest. The sponsorship by APCON include flight ticket, hotel accommodation and $500 pocket money.

The Nigeria programme usually includes sessions where students are taught by senior industry figures. This is done to ensure that everybody benefits from the programme even if they do not win the competition that takes them to France. This year, plans are also on the way to use the programme as a selection platform for Lynx Academy, which is a regional version of the Roger Hatchuel Academy, designed for students from the Middle East, North Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.

On the importance of the Academy, Mr. Nnamdi Ndu, Cannes Lions Representative in Nigeria says “It is the breeding place of the industry heroes of tomorrow and there’s no other programme in the world that I know of that surpasses the Roger Hatchuel Academy in assuring young aspiring communications professionals that they have chosen the best career in the world.”

Since 2008, the Roger Hatchuel Academy is sponsored by DraftFCB. In 2010, the advertising network offered 14 internship positions in their various offices around the world to the Roger Hatchuel Academy participants in Cannes.

Cannes Academy said it has opened registration for the 2011 Roger Hatchuel Academy award.