Who will have the top PR chops?
The 300 students competing in this year’s Jeux franco-canadiens de la communication have been practising for months. Photo courtesy of the Jeux franco-canadiens de la communication
Communications is a competitive field. Getting a message out can be tough, especially under pressure.
This month, 300 students from nine universities across Quebec and New Brunswick will experience that pressure — and then some — at the Jeux franco-canadiens de la communication, which are coming to Concordia for the first time.
The 18th edition of the annual French-language competition runs from Sunday, February 19 until Thursday, February 23. Over the course of those five days, students will take part in a series of competitions related to 13 familiar communications topics: radio production, publicity pitching, crisis management, debating, news broadcast, film production, event creation, print journalism, cultural programming, sports, sports highlights, live cultural event and social media strategy.
Each discipline will be led by a young professional in the field. Organizing committee president and Concordia alumnus Charles D’Amboise says that of this year’s 15 volunteer organizing committee members,13 are Concordia graduates, including CBC Montreal television anchor Thomas Daigle.
“Concordia University is the only English-speaking university in the games, so the fact that the school has been doing so well for the past few years is really special,” says D’Amboise.
The events themselves will be taking place at Concordia University, as well as at the offices of partner institutions including La Presse, MAtv, 98.5 FM and ICI Radio-Canada, and will be judged by industry professionals. The roughly 30 students representing each school were chosen last October, and they have been practising on a weekly basis since then.
“As a former participant, I can say you receive a lot of hands-on experience at the games,” says D’Amboise. “You make a lot of contacts, which is important in an industry like communications. It’s an enriching experience.”
Part of the games will be broadcast live, on the Jeux de la communication’s official website. Further details will be announced next week.
Follow Concordia’s Jeux de la communication team on Facebook.