Diébédo Francis Kéré, a world-renowned architect and 2022 Pritzker Prize laureate, has been honoured at the World Economic Forum’s 30th Annual Crystal Award ceremony.
Kere, together with Oscar-winning Malaysian performer Michelle Yeoh and producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers, were honoured on Monday in Davos.
The Burkinabe was recognised for his exceptional leadership in giving the Gando community with the means to a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable future through programmes that focus on education, health, and the environment.
I feel very, very honored. I feel encouraged to keep pushing” Kere said. “With such an award, you are creating a bigger visibility to my work, so a lot of the men will be coming to me. So I hope of your support. You are our elite. Yes. Yes, you are our elite. And if you help me, you could make me a catalyst to bring quality, comfort, you know, and hope to the world through my work
Diébédo Francis Kéré
In 2022, he became the first Black architect, and the first one from the African continent, to receive the prestigious Pritzker Prize — an award seen as the “Nobel Prize” of architecture.
On September 12, the Japan Art Association honored him with the Praemium Imperiale, one of the most important arts prizes in the world, for his life’s work.
In 2005, he founded his own office in Berlin, Kere Architecture.
He now has both German and Burkinabe citizenship. His internationally acclaimed projects include the “Opera Village Africa” initiated by the late German theater and film director Christoph Schlingensief.
Nile Rodgers and Michelle Yeoh were honoured as well that evening. For his part, Rodgers received recognition for his advocacy and musical talents that have made a substantial difference in fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and peaceful world.
Through the We Are Family Foundation, Rodgers, a steadfast critic of systematic racism, inequality, and injustice, fosters young people’s creativity.
