Deepika Padukone at Davos: here's what to expect from the Bollywood star at the World Economic Forum

• Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone is among the many notable speakers at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos.
  
• She will speak about ending the stigma surrounding mental illness along with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, on January 21.
  
• Padukone is among the four people who will be honoured with the Crystal Award for their contribution in de-stigmatising mental illness.
  

Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone is among the many notable speakers at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos. She will speak about ending the stigma around mental illness along with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, on January 21.

“With more than 300 million people suffering with the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. It is therefore increasingly clear that, now more than ever before, we need to aggressively address what is an invisible and overlooked health and social burden," Padukone said.

Padukone is among the four people who will be honoured with the Crystal Award for their contribution in destigmatising mental illness. She dedicated the award to the millions who experience stress, anxiety and depression, and more.

She is listed as the founder of Live Love Laugh Foundation, an NGO that aims to spread awareness and change people’s perception about mental health. She started it five years ago with her therapist Anna Chandy in a bid to help teens and young adults with anxiety disorders.

Deepika’s fight against mental illness in India

Padukone, who was one of Time’s most influential people in the world in 2018, has been speaking out about mental illness after she suffered from the same.

“I wasn’t aware of what mental illness was, and I didn’t realize the importance of mental health, when we have a fever, we know what the symptoms are. Why aren’t we taught to recognize the symptoms of mental illness in the same way? It was a lack of awareness on my part, but also on the part of the people around me. What if it wasn’t for my mother? Who else would have helped me?” Padukone told Bazaar magazine.

In 2015, she also took part in a TV show along with her therapist in order to clarify misconceptions about mental health. Padukone was recently in the news for visiting the

JNU campus to meet those who were hurt by a mob attack on the university’s students and teachers

As many as 100 Indian CEOs as well as political leaders including union and chief ministers will take part in the Davos event. Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar too attended them in the past.

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