Cannes Lions 2012: Balki and Shekhar Kapur to present ‘Global India’

At the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2012, Lowe Lintas will take stage to present ‘Global India’, a seminar dedicated to Indian creativity and its influence globally. R Balki, chairman and chief creative officer, Lowe Lintas India, will be joined on stage by filmmaker Shehkar Kapur.

David Rowan, editor, Wired Magazine, will interview Balki and Kapur on stage, while the seminar will be introduced by Michael Roth, chairman and chief executive officer, Lowe and Partners' parent company, IPG.

Michael Wall, global chief executive officer, Lowe and Partners, said, “At Lowe and Partners we pride ourselves on our strong capability in emerging markets. We have great, talented leaders, like Balki, who manages to successfully meet the challenges presented by the globalisation of India, while preserving the local culture. We can look forward to a thought provoking seminar from Balki and Shekhar at Cannes Lions, the first time the festival has dedicated a session to India.”

Balki and Kapur will share thoughts on a variety of topics, including the creative heritage of India, the future of India on a world stage, Indian advertising, India in the digital age and the film and entertainment industry.

“This seminar isn’t just for the Indian Cannes delegates to attend. India’s future will play a large role in our industry’s future and should be of interest to all delegates,” Wall added.

On the session, Balki, said, “Cannes Lions is really the only truly global festival that celebrates our industry and looks to its future and India is at the forefront of that future. We plan to bring all the diversity, colour, creativity and passion that is modern India, on stage with us.”

Kapur added, “I am happy for the opportunity to be on the same platform with creative leaders like Balki and Lowe and Partners and look forward to a great, in depth discussion. Social Media is a new force that is asking us to redefine advertising's role in society - we have great challenges, but huge opportunities available to us too, by working within communities.”

The session is scheduled for 12:30 on Tuesday, 19 June, at Le Palais.