As China prepares to deepen its economic reforms, world leaders and opinion makers are debating the future of global economy at 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

Hilde Schwab, chairperson and co-founder of Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, thinks there are too many people thinking about themselves, rather than the people of their countries and the world.

The World Economic Forum is one of the first high-level gatherings of global elites. The five-day annual meeting which officially opens on January 22, bringing together 3,000 leaders representing a wide cross-section of society from around the world. 

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Crystal Awards was established in 1995. It celebrates the achievements of leading artists and cultural figures whose leadership inspires inclusive and sustainable change. The awards themselves are handed out at the beginning of the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Schwab announces the awards each year.

"This year will be the 25th year of Crystal Awards, and we are very happy to have three wonderful Crystal Awards winners,” said Schwab in an exclusive interview with CGTN host Tian Wei. 

When it comes to the introduction of the three winners, there is light in Schwab's eyes. "Let's start the first one – Marin Alsop. She is a conductor. She has been the first conductor of the American orchestra. This is a field has not open to women, which is unbelievable today." 

Schwab went through them one by one, "As the other two, we have Haifaa Al-Mansour from Saudi Arabia, she is a filmmaker. When she made the second film, she couldn't be with actors outside. But gradually, Saudi Arabia allows women to go there. Today she is even a minister of culture. It comes in a long way, but she has to fight for that. And the third person is fighting for environmental management for many decades. Sir David Attenborough, he is a star as you know, everybody knows and admires him. He has done all those inspiring series at BBC about our environments, our ocean and planet." 

Today, people say we are getting more attention to themselves rather than together. Schwab works lots with social entrepreneurs. She says they are passionate about what they are doing and are compassionate with the people who they work. "Sometimes things do not go well, but you cannot give up, you are not allowed to give up. You see the silver line on the horizon; many issues have come in a long way. If we work hard, we can also continue."

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