When I embarked on this study abroad adventure I didn’t really know what the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was. Well now that I have been, I can tell you it is pretty much the coolest thing ever. To start, the festival has the prettiest backdrop of water and a lot of the presentations and talks occur on the beach. For example, I saw John Legend speak on the beach rented out by Facebook and I’m not sure a better moment of my life will come along. The day before the festival I was fortunate enough to go out on a full day boat cruise on the French Riviera. It was a great opportunity for everyone in my program and the professors to bond in a fun environment before the excitement of the festival began. During the festival there were so many amazing speakers and events I didn’t quite know how to pick and choose. I enjoyed going to many of the events with the people in my group, but something nice about the festival was being able to seek out some things on my own.
One of these things I did independently was attending the Innovoid event at a rooftop area of a hotel to see Katie Couric and the CEO of Hulu speak. Originally, I was on the waitlist for this event and was surprised to see I had been removed from the waitlist and could attend. I’m pretty sure I was the only student there. Of course the subject matter of the changing role of T.V. in our fast paced society was interesting, but also Katie Couric was just a few feet away from me! I had to try really hard to focus! She was the moderator of the conversation, interviewing the CEO of Hulu, so it was cool to see her do her job and shine. I got to meet her at the very end and she is kind, poised and smiley. Meeting her was definitely a highlight of the festival for me!
