Public artist Maya Lin, soprano Renee Fleming and actor Idris Elba and wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba are the recipients of the 29th annual Crystal Award.
Organised by the World Economic Forum, the award celebrates cultural figures who are bridge-builders and reflect on the forum’s mission of improving the state of the world. The winners will be honoured at the opening session of the forum’s Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland on January 16.
Previous recipients include filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, author Margaret Atwood, tenor Andrea Bocelli, composer Ravi Shankar, rapper will.i.am and artist Jenny Holzer.
The Crystal Award is presented at Davos each year by Hilde Schwab, chairwoman and co-founder of the World Economic Forum’s World Arts Forum.
Awardees
Lin is receiving the 2023 Crystal Award for her talent in combining science, art and architecture and “her exemplary leadership in the promotion of nature and environment”, said the forum.
“Lin has fashioned a remarkable interdisciplinary career through her highly acclaimed art and architectural works, showcasing sustainable design and emphasising a stronger connection to the land and nature.”
Lin’s work seeks to bring attention to key issues, such as women’s rights, civil rights, Native American history and the climate crisis. In 2016, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-US president Barack Obama, who said that Lin’s work on Vietnam Veterans Memorial “changed the way we think about sacrifice and patriotism and ourselves”.
Her latest memorial What is Missing? is experimental and multidisciplinary in nature. In this work, Lin uses science-based artworks to raise awareness of the current mass extinctions of species, while emphasising on protecting and restoring habitats and reforming last-use practices.
Fleming is being given the 2023 Crystal Award for “her leadership in championing the power of music and its relation to health, community and culture,” the forum said. “She is one of the most acclaimed sopranos of our time and a leading advocate for research at the intersection of arts, health and neuroscience.”
Fleming launched the first ongoing collaboration between the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and the US National Institutes of Health with the participation of the National Endowment for the Arts. The initiative, titled Sound Health, explores the intersection of music, health and neuroscience.
The Renee Fleming Foundation is now in partnership with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health to develop a toolkit for standardising music and health clinical research for brain disorders related to ageing.
Elba and Dhowre Elba are receiving the 2023 Crystal Award for “their leadership in addressing food security, climate change and environmental conservation”.
The couple were appointed UN Goodwill Ambassadors for the International Fund for Agricultural Development in 2020. As part of their role, they focus on issues related to food security, climate change and environmental conservation. The couple recently visited Sierra Leone for an IFAD-supported project, where they met farmers who received support for rice production and assistance with rural finance after the Ebola crisis.
The Luther actor also supports causes related to poverty, HIV/Aids, at-risk and disadvantaged youth, health and education. He worked with the UN and the Department for International Development in the UK during the Ebola health crisis and filmed campaigns in support of Unicef, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. He has recently created a number of youth-focused campaigns to promote education and learning and to discourage violence.
Dhowre Elba, meanwhile, works with a variety of civil society organisations, including Farm Africa, raising funds to help farmers across eastern Africa, and Conservation International on environmental issues. She promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls worldwide. She also chairs the European board for Global Citizen.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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