Leo DiCaprio honoured by WEF
Several leading artists, including, Leonardo DiCaprio, are set to be honoured by the World Economic Forum for their commitment to improving the state of the world.
DiCaprio, along with fellow actor Yao Chen, artist Olafur Eliasson and musician and entrepreneur will.i.am were on Wednesday named by WEF as recipients of the 2016 Crystal Award.
According to a statement from WEF, the winners will be honoured next week at the opening session of the Forum’s Annual Meeting 2016 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
Hilde Schwab, Chairwoman and Co-Founder of the World Economic Forum’s World Arts Forum, which gives out the awards, said: “Given the geopolitical realities of the time when we launched the award in 1995, its purpose was at first to recognise artists who were inspiring cross-cultural understanding and trust across nations.
“While this remains as true for the award today as ever, as the world has changed so, too, the award has evolved also to embrace those exceptional artists who deal with some of the other major global issues, including the environment, social inclusion, health, education, food security and peace-making.”
DiCaprio, who this week won the Golden Globe for best actor for his role of a 19th-century American frontiersman in The Revenant, has been recognised for his leadership in tackling the climate crisis.
The world-renowned actor has long been a passionate advocate for environmental sustainability.
WEF said that with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which he founded in 1998, the actor has been active on a range of sustainability topics, including the protection of key species, including sharks in California, tigers in Asia and elephants in Africa.
DiCaprio has called on world leaders to address climate change and was designated as the United Nations Messenger of Peace for Climate Change.
“Clean air, water and a liveable climate are inalienable human rights,” DiCaprio said. “And solving this crisis is not a question of politics, it is a question of our own survival.”
WEF said Yao Chen, the Chinese actress, known as the “Queen of Weibo”, for having the most followers on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter (78 million), had used her high profile to influence the public on a range of issues, including environmental pollution and food safety.
She has been the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) honorary patron for China, regularly visiting refugee camps in the Philippines, Thailand, Ethiopia, Lebanon and Pakistan.
“Helping others also fulfils the needs of the helper,” she said. “We can only survive by needing and depending on each other.”
Award-winning musician will.i.am has been acknowledged for his leadership in creating educational opportunities for the underserved.
The Black Eyed Peas band member and multi-faceted entertainer and creative innovator, has long had a commitment to inspire kids to stay in school and go to college to become future leaders.
will.i.am has advocated the importance and power of a good education through the i.am.angel Foundation. The Foundation’s programmes include i.am STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths), i.am scholarship, and i.am college track.
will.i.am said: “The STEM/STEAM skills needed to excel in the Fourth Industrial Revolution can equip every citizen with the ability to have a career versus a job, and to build companies and wealth that benefit entire communities versus just a few people.”
World-renowned artist Olafur Eliasson has been recognised for his leadership in creating inclusive communities.
Eliasson has created large-scale installations and designs that have contributed to redefining the essence of cities and communities and some of his major works include The New York City Waterfalls, Ice Watch, The Weather Project and Riverbed.
Since 2012, he has co-led Little Sun, a social business and global project addressing the need for light in a sustainable way that benefits communities without electricity, creates local jobs and generates local profits.
“Art offers one of the few places in our society today where people from various backgrounds can come together to share an experience while having different opinions,” Eliasson said. “Disagreement is not only accepted but encouraged. Art helps us identify with one another and expands our notion of we – from the local to the global.”
Nico Daswani, WEF Lead for Arts and Culture, said: “Together with a community of more than 40 cultural leaders, the Crystal Awardees are coming to Davos to contribute to shaping the global agenda, providing unique ways of looking at issues that can lead to real breakthroughs.”
Over 2,500 leaders from business, government, international organisations, civil society, academia, media and the arts are set to participate in the 46th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, between 20-23 January.
The theme for the forum is Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Among the co-chairs who will help shape discussions this year, are Mary Barra, chief executive officer of General Motors, USA, Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Brussels, Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of the Microsoft Corporation, USA, Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman and chief executive officer of Hitachi in Japan, Tidjane Thiam, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse in Switzerland, and Amira Yahyaoui, founder and chair of Al Bawsala, Tunisia.