Public-Private Partners convene at Cannes for launch of SDG Lounge at International Creative Festival hosted by SAWA, UNDP, PVBLIC and ESG News

Anjali Kwatra and Jan Tore Kristiansen

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS: 

Anjali Kwatra and Jan Tore Kristiansen

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (00:00):

Hi everyone. I’m Anjali Kwatra. I’m the director of advocacy marketing communications at U N DP. Welcome to the SDG media lounge at the Cannes Lion Festival. I’m so pleased today to be joined by Jan Tore Kristiansen, who is the CEO of CAPA. And you have, I think, been a media for 20 years. You are no stranger to Canne Lion festival and all the creativity here, but I wanted to first ask you a bit about your organization CAPA and what it does, uh, and how it’s involved with SAWA and the SDGs.

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (00:31):

Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you very much for being here and for having me here, it’s phenomen for me. And I think that, uh, you earlier are doing really great work all around the world. So, uh, so I’m, we’ll probably come back to that later. Yeah. And that’s one of the reasons why we support you. Uh, but first of all, Capa is a, uh, advertising, uh, cinema advertising company. So we are one of two companies in Norway, uh, selling advertising in front of movies, uh, in the, in the, in the cinemas. And we also do a lot of the work like events, premier shows. Uh, we do product placement in films and, and a lot of things connected to the movie industry and the cinemas, uh, in Norway and, uh, SAWA is our global membership organization for cinema company and advertising cinema companies around the world and associated industries. So, uh, we work closely together. Uh, SAWA is a great, uh, tool, uh, for all our, uh, all the companies, uh, doing cinema advertising around the world. So we have the opportunity to meet each other, like here in can, uh, we do networking, we share research for example, and we share best practices in, in, in technological ways. And we do a lot of things together. So, uh, S industry body for, for us.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (01:49):

Great, great supporter of the SDGs. Yeah, I think so, too. Yeah. And so I know that the don’t choose extinction campaign film is now running in cinemas in Norway, which is absolutely amazing. Yeah, it is. So how did that come about and why was it important for Kappa and sour to, to support this film?

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (02:04):

It all started in 2015 when you launched your, uh, your global goals. Uh, we then thought that it was right to use cinema as the strongest and best, uh, medium in the world we think to, to support that campaign. And we also, uh, have supported you in, in, in the other campaigns in 2016 and, and 18 and 19 as well. And obviously the pandemic hit. So we have, uh, shutdown for a couple of months or, or a year and a half for, for some of our countries. So it hasn’t been able, we haven’t been able to support you in, in that period, but now we are back again in, in 22, and I think it’s, uh, it reflects the, the, the way we want to support, uh, great initiatives that you have. So for us, it’s, uh, it’s a good way of showing the people in nor way, uh, and inform them.

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (02:52):

And it also a good way for carpa to, to engage in other things than only think about the turnover and, and, uh, and our economic results, because this is, uh, this is much bigger than ourselves. So it’s, uh, it’s important for us to, to be able to do. And I also think that the results have been, been very good when we, when we started in 2015, we did a measurement two years later that it was in 2017 showing that, uh, 50% of all people in Norway know about the global goals. And I think that’s, wow, we have contributed to it. Not only we, but we have done our part of it. And now in 2021, that number is 73%. So it’s getting better and better.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (03:29):

Those are amazing figures actually, I think so I think that must be some of the highest in the world. I hope so. Yeah. No, thank you. Well, that’s amazing. And actually that was, I was gonna ask you, do you think that people in Norway, I mean, you’ve said right, that there’s the recognition support of the global goals has gone up, but do you think that the support of climate action is growing in Norway? Like, are people supporting the climate action? What do people think about the climate crisis?

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (03:52):

Yeah, I think it is growing what it’s always like people are different. So some people are very engaged and they think it’s, it’s very important that we engage both as individuals and as organizations and as country and other people don’t care that much, unfortunately. But I think the, the more people, uh, know about the climate, uh, problems we have, uh, the better it is. So, uh, other it is mm-hmm <affirmative> so, uh, so I think it is going in the right direction. Uh, and I think also that, uh, I mean about 65% of all new cars, for example, in now they are electric. Yeah. We are, we are trying to do small steps in the right direction. So, so I think it’s, uh, uh, we are on the right track mm-hmm <affirmative>, but we should have of, obviously we should have done more and we should have done it faster, but, uh, let’s, let’s try to do it better the next coming years. And I also see a shift in, in, in most industries. I mean, a lot of the companies we work with, they only work with companies that are taking, uh, recycling, for example, uh, seriously that they are mm-hmm <affirmative> and they’re doing something about the environment and that they are, that they, that they are, uh, good companies for, for, for the environment. Yeah. So it is, it is a shift coming, but you can always say that it it’s going too slow and we can leave even more. I think you’re on the right track.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (05:09):

Yeah. And do you think there’s a difference between generations in Norwat? I mean the cinema audience there, is it primarily younger people? Yeah. Younger people. Yeah. Uh, so you are really reaching that hard to reach audience, the younger people yeah.

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (05:21):

In the best way.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (05:21):

Yeah. No, absolutely. Right. But no, that’s great because I think it’s so hard to reach across the generations. It’s hard to motivate people. It’s hard to inspire people. I mean, that’s what we try to do in the film. Yeah. To do something a bit different. Um, you know, as you, you know, we see the film, hopefully that it’s a bit funny, a bit bit interesting. It’s not the usual doom and gloom, so yeah. I hope that it does inspire young people in Norway. Yeah.

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (05:43):

Yes ma’am.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (05:44):

Yeah. So do you know that, um, a couple of weeks ago, a few weeks ago, there was a proposal in Norway by the government to cut funding, to, to the UN, to, to development. And thankfully that proposal was reversed, which we were very happy about. Do you think that people in Norway support, you know, overseas aid and development and the kind of funding that we need in order to help the poorest and achieve the SDGs, do you think people in Norway supportive of that?

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (06:10):

Yeah, I think so. And I was a bit surprised myself when that, uh, suggestion came across, uh, and obviously, uh, a lot of political parties and, and, uh, and, uh, uh, the opinion, uh, and people in general, they were not in favor of that suggestion. So it didn’t came through luckily. Uh, and I also think that we, as a country, we have a, we have a rule saying that, uh, that we want to spend 1% of our GMP yeah. Yearly, yeah. To, to support foreign an aid. And, uh, that is, has actually been higher. The two, uh, last year, 21 and 20, it has been 1.1%. And we know that the international, what you say like standard is, oh, 0.0 0.7. So I think we are better than that. And we should be because we are a rich country, one of the riches in the world. So we are, I mean, we, we have to step up. Yeah. And I think there is a general acceptance that we also, uh, is going to do that.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (07:03):

Yeah. And

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (07:04):

Talking about the, the government has one thing, but I think it’s even more important. What, what each, each of us want, want to do and, and, and think is the best. And the there’s always, there’s a survey that has been conducted every fourth year from the seventies and in the seventies, they, about 75% of Norwegian people wanted the government to, to support, uh, uh, for an aid. That number is now 90% for first time by, in February, 2021. Yeah. It reached above 90%. So I think we have the, the public tone is that we, we should do this. And I believe that the Norwegian people stand behind this as well.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (07:45):

Yeah. And you’re right. The Norway has always spent more than I think the, you know, the global standard, which I think has been incredible actually, that they’ve really led the way set the standard. So we’re very happy that Norway is such a good partner for, for the UN and continues to, you know, to fund that work on the SDGs, which is, as you say, is so needed and is so urgent. So here at Canne, you know, you know, surrounded by the most creative people in the world. Yeah. How do you feel about the SDGs here? There’s a lot of conversations about sustainability and the SDGs. Do you think that that is something that has changed over the years? And do you think that that’s something that going forward will become even more important part in Canne?

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (08:24):

Yeah, I think so. And I hope so as well, and I think all the great work that, uh, that you have been, been doing, and we have been showing it in, in cinema as the latest stairs. Yeah. I think it it’s important that everybody can see it. So it’s, uh, so it is a part, a good part of the creative side of the business as well. And that you can do a lot of things with, with, uh, uh, with the global goals and United nations. That is good for, uh, uh, that is good for all of us. So I hope to see more of, of that in, in the coming years.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (08:51):

Yeah. I think we need everybody to achieve the goals we do.

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (08:54):

Yeah. First we have to everybody, and then we have to, to, to make changes and take action as well. But if you’re not informed, it’s very difficult to, to make any action. So the information side of it is, is vitally important. Of

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (09:06):

Course. Yeah. And finally, what’s your call to action then to people here at the, at the, in the most creative place in the world right now at Canne Lion, what would be your core to action to the people attending the festival?

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (09:17):

Well, uh, I think that we have done great work together video since 2015, uh, but cinema is a small, medium it’s, uh, it is around 1% of the media spend in, in, in different countries. Uh, so it’s a small, medium, I think that what we have achieved going to, uh, more than 70% awareness of the global goals is very good, but we need to, to reach those, uh, those that we haven’t reached already. Uh, and we can do that, uh, in the cinema business, but we also need other channels to support these great initiatives that you are doing. So I would, I would, uh, challenge every, uh, every media company and every media channel being here to, to support, uh, those great campaigns.

Anjali Kwatra, Director Advocacy, UNDP (10:03):

Thank you. Thanks Jan and thank you to CAPA thank you to so for great partnership on achieving the SDGs and not climate action, we are so grateful for your support and raising awareness of the issue and, and really getting it out there to wide audiences. So thank you.

Jan Tore Kristiansen, CEO, CAPA (10:16):

Thank you very much for being here.