The Media Federation of Australia (MFA) has unveiled the finalists for the 2024 NGEN Award, an initiative that gives media professionals with less than five years' experience the opportunity to respond to a real brief and solve a communication challenge for a charity client.

This year's charity is Dress for Success NSW & ACT, with a campaign objective of increasing client numbers across all of the organisation’s services. The finalists, recognised for their strategic thinking, creativity, and storytelling skills, include Jasmyn Dawkins from Initiative, Cassandra Deegan and Charlotte Israili from Match & Wood, Marcus Billingham-Yuen and Angelina Das from News Corp, and Caitlin Watters and Kate Brown from UM.

In a first for the award, the top-scoring NGEN entrants were invited to present to a panel of judges in Sydney and Melbourne within four hours of being informed they had made it to the judging round. The winners will be announced at the 25th MFA Awards on 19 September at White Bay Cruise Terminal, Sydney.

"As always, the NGEN Award cemented for me that the future of our industry is in great hands. The NGENers who presented on NGEN Award Day demonstrated astute strategic thinking, bold creativity, confident storytelling skills and passion for living up to our industry’s We Are The Changers purpose. We’re excited to watch you supercharge your careers through the NGEN Award and the NGEN program," said Head of NGEN, Melanie Aslanidis.

Marketing, Communications & Digital Manager at Dress for Success NSW & ACT, Samantha Lee, said: "The presentations were truly inspiring, showcasing the creativity and strategic thinking of the NGEN finalists. The NGEN Award has highlighted our mission and amplifies our efforts to empower women to a brighter, more independent future."