Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was presented the ‘Crystal award’ by Hilde Schwab at the World Economic Forum meeting for her efforts in promoting human rights and women’s issues through film. The award was given at the official Crystal Award ceremony held at the World Economic Forum Congress Centre, Congress Hall in Davos, Switzerland.
The World Economic Forum introduced the Crystal Award to honor personalities who are highly regarded as both cultural Leaders and global citizens committed to improving the state of the world in 1995.
The award pays tribute to the decisive role that culture and art play in the creation of global understanding and peace and is presented every year at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Alongside Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the session awarded Charlize Theron, actress and founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and Vik Muniz, artist and member Global Agenda Council, on the Role of the Arts in Society. The ceremony was chaired by Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Past winners include A R Rahman, Amitabh Bachan, Muhammad Ali, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Richard Gere.
Indeed the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum is recognized as an important global platform for all stakeholders of society with the objective to provide leaders from different domains with an interdisciplinary and holistic view of the critical political, societal, technological and economic issues. It brings together 2000 top leaders from business, government, the media, academia, science, the arts and civil society in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, to shape the global agenda of the forthcoming year.
On winning the award Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said, “I am humbled by the opportunity to represent Pakistan on such a prestigious platform. The Crystal Award embodies the sentiments that guide my work as a filmmaker, and I firmly believe that the pursuit of art and film can change the world by promoting dialogue and acting as a catalyst for change.”
At the Crystal Awards ceremony, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy wore a Nida Azwer Atelier creation including a Gold Jumpsuit and a Sherwani/Coat paired with a custom design Pakistani flag themed clutch by Pakistani designers Samia & Azmay Shahzada. The Pakistani flag on the clutch was hand designed in Dubai by Samia & Azmay in collaboration with Swarovski.
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas
