Daily Times

KARACHI: Academy Award Winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is all set to co-chair the 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting scheduled to take place from January 17-20, 2017 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme “Responsive & Responsible Leadership”.

The meeting will convene more than 2,500 participants from nearly 100 countries to take part in over 300 sessions. A recipient of the World Economic Forum ‘Crystal Award’ and part of the Young Global Leaders community, Sharmeen is the first artist ever to co-chair to prestigious forum’s annual meeting.

Established since 1971, The World Economic Forum is committed to improving the state of the world. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters remains the foremost creative force for engaging the world’s top leaders in collaborative activities to shape the global, regional and industry agendas at the beginning of each year.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting for 2017 will focus on five distinct challenges facing the word in 2017: a breakdown in global collaboration; loss of identity; slow economic growth; a crisis in capitalism and preparing for the oncoming Fourth Industrial Revolution. Along with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, taking a principal role in shaping the discussion at the Annual Meeting 2017 will be co-chairs will be Brian T Moynihan of Bank of America, Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Save the Children International, Frans van Houten of Royal Philips and Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

On being the first artist and Pakistani to co-chair, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said, “It is a great honour to be the first artist ever to be given the opportunity to co-chair the prestigious World Economic Forum at Davos in 2017. I have always believed that the true mark of any thriving society is the amount of investment made in its cultural and artistic infrastructure. There is, now, an increasing recognition of the fact that business and economics must go hand-in-hand with culture and arts for society to move forward and it is with great pride that I will be representing both the art community and my country, Pakistan! Our world continues to become increasingly interdependent, even as political events signal a desire for isolation and a retreat from globalisation. To address both of these profound forces, we must strive for better global governance systems that provide everyone with a voice,” World Economic Forum Founder & Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said.

The World Economic Forum will also be honouring the 23rd Annual Crystal Award winners during the opening session of the Annual Meeting 201 on January 16; violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, musician Shakira and artist and social activist Forest Whitaker will be awarded with the 2017 Crystal Awards in recognition of their leadership as artists to improving the state of the world.

Through her work onscreen as an Oscar and Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and her efforts off screen, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has indeed become an important part of the global conversation in support of women’s issues and human rights in her native country and around the world.

Having worked with refugees and marginalised communities from Saudi Arabia to Syria and from Timor Leste to the Philippines by bringing their voices to the forefront, Sharmeen has often helped them bring about a critical change in their community. She has made various multi award winning films in over 10 countries around the world. Her films include ‘Saving Face’, ‘Transgenders – Pakistan’s Open Secret’ and ‘Pakistan’s Taliban Generation’. Her work has aired on channels spanning four continents including, HBO, CNN, PBS, Channel 4, CBC, Arte, SBS and the Discovery channel. In 2012, Time included Sharmeen in their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2013, the Canadian government awarded Sharmeen a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the field of documentary films and the World Economic Forum honoured her with a Crystal Award at their annual summit in Davos. She has also been awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan – the country’s second highest civilian honour.