Bold cubs become brave lions

The Future Lions 2023 competition has awarded four winning ideas.

Celebrating its 18th year, Future Lions, in association with Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, illuminates the vision of young people and their imaginative application of cutting-edge technologies. This year, AKQA, Volvo Cars and Forbes CMO Network teamed up to invite entrants to explore pioneering solutions that prioritise safety.

For the first time in the competition’s history, AKQA has awarded two Grand Prix winners. The idea to combine both solutions creates one breakthrough idea for maximum impact, which will be brought to life in collaboration with Volvo.

The four winning ideas and teams are:

Grand Prix

Bike Bell

A car-alerting bike bell that fuses automotive and cycling safety

Team: Albert Bäckman, Emil Sörensen, Rebecka Rydgren, Sandra Alwan, Clara-Fanny Nordström Pagh

School: Berghs School of Communication, Sweden

Grand Prix

Safety Noise

A car horn able to bypass the barriers of noise-cancelling headphones

Team: Sara Cavallo Bec, Victoria Lara Battista, Hannia Yaret Rodriguez Torres

School: Brother and Miami Ad School, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Winner

Head Lights

Seasonal Affective Disorder light billboards that radiate vitality in dark times

Team: Sebastian Benn

School: DMJX, Denmark (Danish School of Media and Journalism)

Winner

Clean Energy Hour

An app that removes obstacles, plotting the easiest path to sustainable car chargers

Team: Jaeyeon Hwang, Hong MyeongYun, Uijin Yang, Woohee Byun

School: Open Learn Academy South Korea consisting of Kyonggi University, Dongseo University, Hongik University, Pennsylvania State University



Brother Creativity School, Argentina, is named Future Lions School of the Year for achieving the most shortlisted entries. This is the second time that Brother has won this recognition.

Each winning team and Brother Creativity School were awarded with the Future Lions trophy on stage at the WPP Beach in Cannes. The ceremony was hosted by Gemma Redgrave, Marketing Director AKQA, with Chief Creative Officer AKQA Peter Lund and special guest Seth Matlins Managing Director Forbes CMO Network.

Ajaz Ahmed, CEO and Founder of AKQA, said: “Our 2023 Future Lions winners demonstrate that innovation knows no bounds when young minds have the opportunity to champion the safety and wellbeing of the world. Thank you Volvo and Forbes for powering the platform that gives this new generation an opportunity to shine, and have their inspiring, enriching inventions realised.”

Since its inception in 2005, Future Lions has become one of the most coveted honours for emerging talent in the design, creative and advertising industry. Future Lions has received entries from 85 countries and helped launch the careers of over 170 of today’s most exceptional creatives.