The One Club for Creativity has opened the call for entries for the 10th annual Next Creative Leaders 2025, a free global competition recognizing women, non-binary, and trans creatives on the rise.
Next Creative Leaders (NCL), established jointly with The 3% Movement, is the industry’s only free portfolio competition that identifies, celebrates, and provides a global platform to talented women, non-binary, and trans creatives who are making their mark on the world with both their work and unique point of view on creative leadership that’s changing the industry for the better.
NCL is also an example of how The One Club, the world’s foremost nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the global creative community, looks to improve the industry and remove barriers to entry and advancement by providing this free-to-enter recognition program.
Eligible participants are those who are stepping into leadership roles, including copywriters, art directors, designers, ACDs, content creators, and recently promoted creative and design directors with less than one year in the role, and creative teams who are doing game-changing work.
Entries highlighting a candidate’s creativity, leadership, and unique point of view must be submitted by the June 16, 2025 deadline. To make Next Creative Leaders as open and accessible as possible, there is no fee to enter.
Entrants are judged on four-to-six pieces of creative work and information about how they — and their work — are pushing the industry forward and making a positive contribution in terms of diversity, mentoring, and advocacy.
Submissions will be reviewed by a jury of more than 70 top creatives from around the world, including past NCL winners, to be announced shortly. This year’s winners will be announced in late August 2025.
Along with naming global winners based upon the highest jury scores, the competition also recognizes regional winners in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East/Africa, and North America. An archive of past NCL winners, sorted by year, can be viewed HERE.
Each NCL winner receives a one-year complimentary individual membership with The One Club, with opportunities to serve on juries for one of The One Club’s awards programs, and receive a complimentary ticket to a One Club professional development conference ($1,000+ value), panels, and mentorship events.
Winners also have their work showcased on The One Club website and social channels, covered by media partners, and have potential opportunities to speak at NCL events.
“The One Club created its own inclusion and diversity department nearly 20 years ago, and has steadily increased programming around gender equity in the workplace,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “Next Creative Leaders is an important part of our programming because it identifies, elevates, and gives voice to those who are making a real difference, those who are opening the door and inspiring the next generation of creatives who follow in their footsteps.”
Branding for Next Creative Leaders 2025 was designed by Du Nieto (he/they), an NCL 2021 winner who serves as lead designer at Revolut, independent creative at dadada.work, originally from Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil, and now based in London. Font for the branding – Romie Light Italic – was donated by Margot Lévêque Studio, based in New York.
The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organization’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.