Founders Session: Turning Grief Into a Movement for Change

At a festival dominated by conversations about brands, technology, and artificial intelligence, the Founders session “The Generation We Can’t Afford to Lose” brought attention to a far more urgent issue: the human cost of gun violence and the role creativity can play in protecting the next generation.

Held during Latino US Day at Cannes Lions 2026, the panel featured Patricia Oliver, Co-founder and Executive Leader of Change the Ref; Kahlil Greene, known as The Gen Z Historian; and was moderated by Tanya De Poli, Co-founder and CEO of Founders. 

Opening the conversation, De Poli reminded the audience that every young life lost represents far more than an individual tragedy.

“When we lose a young person to gun violence, we don’t just lose a life—we lose a legacy, ideas, innovation, and a future that will never exist.” For Patricia Oliver, activism began with unimaginable loss. Her son, Joaquín “Guac” Oliver, was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

“We lost Joaquín in the streets,” she recalled. “So we’re going to fight for this in the streets.”

Together with her family, she founded Change the Ref, an organization that uses creativity, culture, and activism to advocate for stronger gun safety measures. The organization’s name comes from Joaquín’s love of basketball and his habit of complaining about referees’ bad calls—a metaphor for changing the rules when the system fails.

Oliver said she truly felt like an activist months later, while marching alongside thousands of young people demanding action after Parkland.

Finding a voice—and using it
Greene described how his own journey began at Yale University, where he studied the history of social movements but only later experienced activism firsthand.

After Yale police mistakenly shot at an innocent Black couple, Greene helped organize a campus protest involving thousands of students and led an investigation into previous incidents involving Black students. Soon afterward, he became Yale’s first Black student body president in its 318-year history.

“That was my first experience seeing real-world change happen,” he said.

The magazine Forbes didn’t want
One of the session’s central stories focused on the campaign “30 Under 30,” created with FOUNDERS and Change the Ref.

The original idea was to partner with Forbes by replacing its famous 30 Under 30 list with the stories of 30 young people whose lives were cut short by gun violence. According to De Poli, the proposal was rejected because it was considered “too political.”

Instead, the team produced its own magazine and distributed 3,000 copies during the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit.

Greene, who had been invited to speak at the event, immediately agreed to use his stage time to amplify the campaign.

“I grew up doing active shooter drills since I was six years old,” he said. “When Tanya called me, I didn’t hesitate. Forbes 30 Under 30 wasn’t as important as raising awareness.”

His speech, titled “Stupidity Is Killing Us,” ended with an unexpected consequence.

Security officers confiscated his event credentials and escorted him out of the venue. Meanwhile, attendees reported that magazines were being taken from their hands.

“The next day Forbes apologized and said they didn’t know who gave the order,” Greene recalled. “By trying to silence us, they only made the message louder.”

Oliver emphasized that the campaign was never about politics, but about restoring the humanity behind statistics. “They’re not numbers. They’re human beings,” she said, referring to the young people portrayed in the magazine through illustrations and stories about the dreams they never had the chance to fulfill.

She also thanked FOUNDERS and its creative partners for taking the risk of supporting the project, which went on to win a Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions 2026.

“They’re not selling a brand,” Oliver said. “They’re selling life and safety through their campaigns.”

Closing the session, De Poli reminded the audience that between 12 and 13 children and teenagers die from gun violence every day in the United States. She urged agencies, brands, and business leaders to use their platforms to help drive change.

The panel concluded with a powerful reflection from moderator Roko, who challenged the audience to think beyond commercial success.

“Sometimes at Cannes we just want to sell, sell, sell,” he said. “But what are we really selling? What kind of world do we want to create?”