Back From Cannes, Back to Work | 3 June 2012

Issue 2 of Southern Innovator was officially launched during the High-Level Meeting on South-South Cooperation at the United Nations in New York from May 22-25. The global roll out has begun and the magazine is available for distribution and sharing.

I briefly took in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival last weekend. It was a privilege to see the spectacle and join a film party. I also had the opportunity to see a snapshot of the global South’s creative economy through its many filmmakers displaying their films in the Cannes marketplace. Even I was surprised by the number of films set in Inner Mongolia and on the theme of Mongolian history! I will be approaching some of these people in the coming weeks to see if we can collaborate for the upcoming Cities and Urbanization issue of Southern Innovator (Issue 4).

I also had the opportunity to meet the representatives of the Kenyan Department of Film Services and hope I can visit them sometime soon.

A TV reporter at the Cannes red carpet.

Issue 3 is also busily underway. The theme is Agriculture and Food Security and a timely one, with the global population hitting 7 billion this year. Various options are being considered for the cover and they can be seen below. As is the case with all issues of Southern Innovator, sponsors can either choose to fund the issue’s production costs, advertise on a page or collaborate in the production of a supplement to be inserted inside each issue. Southern Innovator offers sponsors a great opportunity to reach a global audience and one that is on the cutting edge of change and innovation.