Publish Date: Jun 01, 2026
The Unstereotype Alliance will be at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. We are marking our 9th anniversary with an exciting lineup of events and discussions across the week, covering a wide range of topics. We hope you will join us on the Croisette for a week of conversation, connection, and action on inclusion.
Monday, June 22 | 5:45pm – 6:15pm
Inclusive GenAI: Shaping skills for a new era
Hotel Splendid, hosted by World Women Foundation
GenAI is unlocking new possibilities across the ad industry, but without due caution, these opportunities can quickly become risks to inclusion. The Unstereotype Alliance is convening advertising leaders for a discussion about how the industry can lead with intention. Members will share how they're already using GenAI, why embedding inclusion matters at this pivotal moment, and what responsible adoption looks like in practice. The session will preview the thinking behind the Alliance's forthcoming practical AI playbook, setting the stage for its launch.
Jacqui Stephenson, Global Responsible & Purpose Marketing Officer, Mars Incorporated
Gabi Rodrigues, Chief Impact Officer, Droga5 Brazil
Amy Cashman, Global Managing Director, Marketing & Commercial Activation, Kantar
Tuesday, June 23 | 12:15pm – 1:00pm
Trust Pays: The Business Case for Self-Regulation
Croisette Beach Hotel - MGallery, hosted by The ICAS Global Think Tank
The Alliance will be part of the ICAS Global Think Tank session Trust Pays: The Business Case for Self-Regulation, exploring how effective self-regulatory systems can create measurable value for business by building trust in advertising, reducing risk, supporting responsible innovation and contributing to healthier markets. The discussion will also bring an inclusion lens to the conversation, looking at how accountability frameworks can help raise standards on representation, reduce harmful stereotypes and support more responsible approaches as advertising technologies continue to evolve.
Tuesday, June 23 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Unstereotype Alliance Members Event
Invite only, please reach out to the team if you are a Member or Ally and haven't received a save the date.
This year’s gathering will feature reflections from the Vice Chairs on what lies ahead as the Unstereotype Alliance approaches its 10-year milestone, the unveiling of the new GenAI Playbook - practical guidance developed by the UA working group, a guest keynote speaker, and plenty of time for discussion and networking with fellow members.
Jacqui Stephenson, Global Responsible & Purpose Marketing Officer, Mars Incorporated
Isabel Massey, Global Head of Media & Integrated Brand Experiences, Unilever
Stephan Loeke, CEO, World Federation of Advertisers
Rachel Lowenstein, Cultural Strategist and Content Creator
Preetesh Sewraj, CEO, The Loeries (South Africa National Chapter)
Wednesday, June 24 | 4:45pm – 5:30pm
Beyond Campaigns: Rethinking How We Keep Girls in Sports
Lions Sports Stage, The Carlton Hotel
UN Women will join the Lions Sport session Beyond Campaigns: Rethinking How We Keep Girls in Sport, a discussion focused on what it will take to keep girls engaged in sport and drive more systemic change across the sector. The session will feed into the Play On Charter, a framework led by Standard Chartered in partnership with UN Women and the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and brings together a multi-sector conversation on girls’ participation, inclusion and the future of women’s sport. This is also an area the Alliance will continue to build on, drawing from its work on women in sport and the 3Ps guidance.
Thursday, June 25 | 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Workshop | Inclusive AI in Action: Activating the UA Playbook
Kantar Content Studio, hosted by Kantar
Hosted by Kantar at their Content Studio, this hands-on workshop will unpack the Unstereotype Alliance’s Inclusive AI Playbook, showing how the principles work in practice. Through real-world case studies, participants will explore how leading brands are already using GenAI more inclusively, from curating representative data, to crafting intentional prompts, to maintaining human oversight over AI-generated creative. This interactive session is an opportunity to move from inspiration to application and is designed for marketers, creatives, and brand leaders. Attendees will leave with tools and techniques they can take back to their teams immediately.
Register interest here (limited spaces) >
What are Unstereotype Members and Allies doing at Cannes?
Monday, June 22 | 09:00am - 10:00am
Why Creativity Matters – Get Results and Beyond
WACL Empower Café, Pantiero Terrace, Prom. de la Pantiero
A connective, celebratory workshop that demonstrates how advertising and creativity is a force for good and growth. We first start by reframing what the power of creativity can truly accomplish in a moment that requires new thinking through the notion of good growth. We then explore how positive impact and business performance can stem from creativity through tangible good growth examples.
Monday, June 22 | 12:15pm - 12:45pm
Impact Debrief: Susan Credle, Former Chair, FCB & Creative Advisor, Omnicom
Debussy Foyer, Palais des Festivals, 1st Floor (ACT Responsible Hall). Delegate Pass required
Join Samuel Monnie and Toussef Mirza of Purpose Hive for the Impact Debrief: a candid, backstage-style conversation with leading voices at the intersection of creativity, culture, brands, and positive impact today. In a more relaxed and interactive setting, speakers including Susan Credle, FCB former Global Chair & Omnicom Creative Advisory, will go beyond the mainstage to share deeper reflections, untold stories, hard-earned lessons, and the experiences that continue to shape their thinking and work.
This session is organized at the LIONS Impact Hub and is reserved for delegates only. A maximum of 30 people can participate in this intimate session, so make sure to register.
Monday, June 22 | 3.00pm - 3.45pm
Building on Respect: Why the Best Businesses Put People First
WACL Empower Café, Pantiero Terrace, Prom. de la Pantiero
In an era defined by burnout, rapid transformation, and relentless pressure to scale, respect has become one of the most overlooked drivers of business success. Yet the companies building the strongest cultures, attracting the best talent, and creating lasting growth are often the ones prioritising trust, transparency, empathy, and human connection alongside performance.
Monday 22 June | 5:15pm – 5:45pm
The new creative frontier is humans-at-the-center of AI
Debussy Foyer, 1st Floor, Palais des Festivals
Although AI is here to stay, AI in of itself is not the “full” future. And that's because of 2 main reasons: AI is becoming a commodity and AI is not human, and therefore does not emote or understand emotion. So the key is to find the right dynamic between humanness and AI as we embark on the next iteration of creativity and growth.
This conversation will dive into the existential question of what is “creativity” to better understand its implication in the modern tech world and also showcase a model that delineates how to get to great creative work that leverages both what we uniquely offer as humans and what AI offers. There is no doubt that the future is human, perhaps even more human than at any other time in our advanced technological age.
Tuesday, June 23 | 10:00am – 10:15am
Neurodiversity as a Creative Advantage: Fireside Chat with Cannes Lions
Cannes Lions Impact Hub, Debussy Foyer, The Palais
Is the creative industry falling into a sea of sameness? This could be because it is underutilizing a cohort of talent best suited for creativity and cutting through cultural noise: neurodivergent minds.
LIONS Chief Content Officer Paul Kemp Robertson sits down with Understood.org Co-President & CMO Nathan Friedman to discuss why cognitive diversity is a creative and competitive advantage, sharing new research and case studies of brands investing in neuroinclusion.
Tuesday, June 23 | 1:30pm - 2:00pm
Momentum by Design: The Power of Experience
FQ Beach
The most impactful brand moments don't happen by accident. They are designed with intention, built for connection, and carried forward through the stories people tell afterward. But in a world of shrinking attention and rising expectations, the gap between an experience people remember and one they forget is razor thin. The brands winning here aren't just showing up bigger; they're showing up smarter, with clearer purpose and a deeper understanding of what actually moves people.
Understood Co-President & CMO Nathan Friedman will approach this through the neurodiversity angle and will join Pamela Brown from Target, Justine Frostad from Cognitiv, Kerry-Anne Hamilton from #Paid and Alice McKown from The Atlantic to discuss creating experiences that build momentum in the moment and meaning far beyond it.
Tuesday, June 23 | 12:00pm - 1:45pm
Roundtable lunch – WFA’s value of sustainable marketing
DEPT® Secret Garden
Moderated by WFA, Revolt, Kantar, Oxford Said Business School
No panels, no presentations, and no passive audiences. A Chatham House-rule lunch where the most valuable thing in the room is the lived experience of the people in it. Senior marketers alongside representatives from the World Federation of Advertisers in candid conversation about what sustainable marketing is actually worth.
The discussion is grounded in early insights from a live research project led by WFA in partnership with Revolt, the Future of Marketing Initiative at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and Kantar. You will hear what evidence tells us about the link between sustainable marketing communications, brand value, and commercial performance, and connect directly with senior marketing and sustainability leaders.
Spaces are limited and must be pre-registered. Contact to attend: jennyb@revoltlondon.com
Thursday, June 25 | 4:15pm – 4:30pm
Representation in Cannes Lions Film and Film Craft Work
Basement Stage, The Palais
75% of global consumers say that diversity within brands influences their purchasing decisions. But does on-screen representation in global advertising reflect this reality? Launched in 2016, this study from the Geena Davis Institute is celebrating its 10th anniversary and investigates the onscreen representation in Cannes Lions Film and Film Craft shortlisted and winning work from 2006 to 2025. It provides a deep dive into how various groups are portrayed, highlighting significant differences across the board.
Alliance members and allies are invited to add relevant events to add to this calendar , please email us with your Cannes plans and we will continue to populate our Cannes Calendar.