Activities of Secretary-General in France, 24-25 June
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon departed Havana, Cuba, for Cannes, France, on Thursday evening, 23 June, where he arrived on Friday the 24th.
The Secretary‑General attended the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, which brings together the leaders of the global advertising industry. In his keynote address at “The Cannes Debate”, the Secretary‑General asked the industry leaders to create the biggest campaign for humanity: a campaign for the Sustainable Development Goals — the biggest anti‑poverty, pro‑planet action plan ever adopted. He asked them to help us transform a complex and abstract agenda into a personal and emotional story about how we can build a better world. (See Press Release SG/SM/17877.)
Following the speech, the Secretary‑General had an opportunity to meet the winners of specific campaigns designed for particular Goals by young leaders from the advertising world.
The Secretary‑General then departed Cannes for Paris where, on Saturday, 25 June, he had a working breakfast with President François Hollande at the Elysée Palace. They held a press encounter afterwards.
The Secretary-General also met that day with Jean Todt, his Special Envoy for Road Safety, and he was interviewed by Francois Clemenceau for Le Journal du Dimanche.
Before leaving Paris on Saturday afternoon for Kuwait, the Secretary‑General spoke at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University, where he received an honorary doctorate. (See Press Release SG/SM/17881.)