The statement was given in response to the movement led by the Papel & Caneta collective, which launched a manifesto letter and asked market professionals to pressure the executive
The Cannes Festival of Creativity admitted that it failed in the selection of Brazilian judges. The statement was given by Simon Cook, president of the festival, in response to the movement led by the Papel & Caneta collective, which launched a manifesto letter and asked that market professionals put pressure on the executive about the lack of representation among Brazilian jurors. Earlier, in response to PROPMARK, the organization had said that the composition of the judges reflected the industry.
“We are committed to having more representative juries – but we are still far from where we want to be. This year, we failed in the selection of judges in Brazil”, declared the executive, recognizing that the festival needs to do more in each country.
According to him, the shortlist jury, which should be presented next week, will have more presence globally and “and at a local level, especially in Brazil”.
In response, Cook justifies himself by saying that the festival’s efforts have been directed towards inclusion and representation on a global level. According to the executive, the representation of black people went from 8% in 2021 to 13% this year and “people of color” (non-white), from 37% to 47%.
“Going forward, we are committed to revising our criteria, increasing transparency about representation in the country, and ensuring that country-level juries are representative of society,” he says.
See the full response:
“We are committed to having more representative juries – but we are still far from where we want to be. This year, we failed in the selection of jurors in Brazil.
I sincerely recognize that there is more work to be done in each country. The Cannes Lions pre-selection jury will be announced next week and we will ensure better representation globally – and at a local level, particularly in Brazil.
To date, our efforts have focused on inclusion and representation on a global level, with representation of black people increasing from 8% in 2021 to 13% this year and people of color [não-brancas] increasing from 37% to 47%. These are steps in the right direction on a global scale.
Moving forward, we are committed to revising our criteria, increasing transparency about in-country representation, and ensuring that country-level juries are representative of society.
I would like to thank you [Papel & Caneta] for writing to me and raising awareness of this important issue. We are working to see everything we do through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion and are committed to our juries being more representative of society, year after year.”
