The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will honor girls’ education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai, with the 2022 Cannes LionHeart; the award is given to a person who has harnessed their position to make a significant and positive difference to the world around us.
Born in Pakistan, Yousafzai’s life changed dramatically when the Taliban took control of the town where she lived and banned girls from attending school. After speaking out publicly on behalf of girls and their right to learn, she survived an attempt on her life by the Pakistan Taliban. In 2014, Yousafzai and her father co-founded Malala Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses.
Lions chairman Philip Thomas said: “Malala’s strength and courage is an inspiration. Her creative leadership of Malala Fund has successfully established a charity that is creating positive change for many across the globe. The LionHeart is awarded to those that are making a genuine difference to the world and to whom we offer the platform of Cannes Lions to appeal to the world’s communicators to help their cause. We are humbled to be presenting her with this award in June, and we know that the creative community will respond with their customary generosity and creativity.”
The LionHeart has previously been awarded to Bono, Al Gore, Blake Mycoskie, Richard Curtis, Paul Polman and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Yousafzai said, “Girls have the power to boost economies, create jobs, make communities safer and drive change. But to see the future educated girls can create will require individuals, leaders and companies across every sector to take action. I am honored to accept this year’s LionHeart Award and look forward to connecting with the creatives at Cannes Lions around how companies can lend their platforms, expertise and resources to accelerate progress for young women, girls and our world.”
With more than 130 million girls out of school, Yousafzai’s mission is to ensure all girls receive 12 years of free, safe, quality education. Malala Fund focuses on three core areas to propel this fight: investing in local education activists; advocating for policies that will help more girls learn; and amplifying girls’ voices. Malala Fund works in regions where the most girls miss out on secondary education, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania.
The Cannes LionHeart seminar, with Yousafzai, will take place in the Lumiere Theatre at 3pm on Thursday, June 23. Yousafzai will accept the LionHeart Award that evening at the awards show.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTEยฎ,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
โSMPTEโs membership has spoken,โ said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann DโAmato. โThese officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!โ
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More