IIFA are very excited to open nominations for the 2026 Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year award. IIFA Members have until Friday 31 October 2025 to nominate a Candidate as part of this two-round competition. This Irish competition will also act as the selection process for Ireland's Candidate for the annual FIATA global Young Logistics Professional Award (YLP). The individual chosen to be selected as the Irish winner for 2026 will then be nominated forward by IIFA to represent Ireland with the 2026 FIATA YLP.
There will be two rounds with the 2026 Irish competition:
Round 1 – A video submission entry with a deadline of Sunday 09 November 2025. A short list of successful Candidates will then be announced in the week of 24-28 November 2025.
Round 2 – Shortlisted Candidates will submit an outline 600 – 700 words of their prospective thesis for the FIATA YLP topic with a deadline of Sunday 18 January 2026. A panel presentation evening will take place on Wednesday 28 January 2026 where an overall Irish winner will be selected.
In addition to being selected to represent Ireland through the FIATA YLP, the annual Irish Winner will receive a prize of a €500 voucher, an individual trophy and their name on a perpetual trophy which will be awarded to subsequent annual National Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year winners.
The Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year award commenced in 2024 and the inaugural winner was Danya Thackrah of IIFA Member RHENUS Air & Ocean Ltd. The 2025 winner was David Macken of IIFA Member Hawthorn Logistics Ltd.
Within Irish International Freight Association, we are excited to be able to offer an opportunity to Members and their young colleagues of the Irish Freight Forwarding and Customs Brokerage industry to be recognised for their often underrecognized creative work. Members interested in nominating a Colleague forward for this competition are asked to contact the IIFA Secretariat via 01 845 5411 or e-mail through to info@iifa.ie ahead of the Friday 31 October 2025 deadline. Should any Members have any questions about the competition or the procedures, please do contact the Association at any time via the above channels.
