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Cate Blanchett, Elton John, Shah Rukh Khan Receive Davos Human Rights Awards


Actor Cate Blanchett, actor Shah Rukh Khan and singer Elton John are pictured at the Crystal Awards ceremony of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2018.
Actor Cate Blanchett, actor Shah Rukh Khan and singer Elton John are pictured at the Crystal Awards ceremony of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2018.

Film star Cate Blanchett, singer-songwriter Elton John and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan received awards at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday for their work raising awareness about human rights issues.

Blanchett, an Australian, received a Crystal Award for her work with people who have fled their homes. British singer-songwriter John received his for his charitable work with his AIDS foundation. Indian Khan's was in recognition of his work championing the rights of children and women in India.

The Crystal Award is given, by the WEF to artists who make a positive change in society.

The awards were presented at a ceremony in the village of Davos, in the Swiss Alps, where some of the world's top policy makers and executives have begun gathering for the annual meeting.

Attendees take part at a reception event after the Crystal Award ceremony during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2018.
Attendees take part at a reception event after the Crystal Award ceremony during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2018.

Blanchett, who has won two Oscars, was named a goodwill ambassador for United Nations refugee agency UNHCR in May 2016.

As part of her role, the actor has travelled to Lebanon and Jordan to meet refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict.

She warned of the consequences if more was not done to help people forced to flee their homes.

"Lost generations of uneducated, disenfranchised and displaced children not only represent a vast loss of potential but also a threat for future global security and prosperity," she said.

More than a million people have fled parts of Africa and the Middle East to Europe in the last few years.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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