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This is my friend Saeeda.

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Saaeda is a jewelry artisan
from Afghanistan.

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Saaeda was born
in a refugee camp in Pakistan,

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where she became sick
during the first year of her life,

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and lost her hearing.

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Saaeda is deaf,

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she communicates with sign language,

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and her actions are powerful
and inspiring.

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I met Saaeda when she came to New York.

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She was receiving an award from
the United Nations for sustainability,

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with a team from Turquoise Mountain,

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a charity from the UK
that works in developing nations

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to provide jobs and pride for workers.

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Saaeda has a community in Kabul,

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and these workers are making jewelry,

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they're making products,
woodworks, handicrafts,

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and they rely on access
to our Western markets

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for their livelihood, for their income,

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and to provide for their families.

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Afghanistan is a war zone,

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bombings happen with regularity,

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and the Taliban is in and around
more than we wish.

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This is my friend Juana.

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Juana is from Lachuá, Guatemala.

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I met Juana on a cacao sourcing trip
for my chocolate business,

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and as we walked through
the jungles and the cacao farms of Lachuá,

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I noticed that Juana did not have shoes.

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I thought of all the shoes that I have
in my apartment in New York City,

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that my friends have,

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that all of you here tonight 
may have in your closets

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of colours, shapes and styles,

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and I felt so guilty.

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Are we wrong to enjoy things 
that we can afford,

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that we've worked for, that we've earned,

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and our lifestyle in New York,
or Paris, or Florida?

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What can we do about it?

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In the $2.4 trillion garment industry,
80% of the workers are women.

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Many are subject to low pay, 
mistreatment and abuse,

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and human rights issues.

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90% of the worlds cacao
is farmed by smallholder farmers

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that live on less than $2 a day.

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That's half the price
of a Starbuck's coffee.

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5 million women and children work
in the jewelry industry in the mines.

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They are subject to
human rights abuses, low wages,

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to make our bracelets,
our necklaces and our rings.

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So again I ask you what can we do
about it, besides feeling terribly guilty?

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The World Economic Forum
in Davos, Switzerland,

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two weeks ago,

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had the theme of Globalisation 4.0,

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and they asked:

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"How do we create a shared economy 
that works for everyone

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and not just the fortunate few?"

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There's a solution.

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Some of you may have heard of it.

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If not, I encourage you to take part.

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It's 'conscious consumerism' -

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buying with intent, buying with purpose,

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and literally, in the case
of a chocolate bar,

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putting your money 
where your mouth is.

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By buying with purpose, by buying brands 
and products that we can respect,

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with ethical, radically
transparent supply chains,

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we could make a difference

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in the artisans, the factory workers

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and the farmers

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around the world in developing nations,

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or your own nation,

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through conscious consumerism.

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You can support quality products,
quality brands and quality companies.

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Executives, about 65% right now,
are looking at sustainability

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and ethical, transparent supply chains

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as something that they expect us
to expect of them.

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About 50% of millennials
and 46% of Generation Z customers

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research the brands before they buy.

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How can we bring that number up

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and transfer it communally
to whole generations

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to make a difference in the lives
and express the values that we want

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and make a difference in the world?

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How does one do it?

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It sounds a little complicated,
it might take some time, some effort.

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Let's set our intention first.

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One dollar, one vote.

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One dollar, one voice.

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Those are phrases we've heard before.

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But literally, when you vote
with your wallet,

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you're expressing what kind 
of world you want to have.

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When you vote and have a voice 
with your dollars,

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it becomes a chorus of values,

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each individual person becomes a chorus
when we vote collectively.

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So you set your intention:

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we will mobilise our dollars
to conscious consumerism

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for economic empowerment.

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Do your research, how do you know
what brands to support?

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Google's a pretty good option.

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Check out annual reports, websites,

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companies with radical,
transparent supply chains

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that are doing ethical business
and practising fair trade

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can really express to you
what's happening,

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and you can learn about them easily,

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because they care,
and they want you to know

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so that you buy their products.

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Take your time.

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It's important to take your time
before purchasing.

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We live in a society
where we are forced to be fast.

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We have to think fast,
to do fast and spend fast.

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When you invest in products
over the long term,

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for example, a chocolate bar,

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you buy a chocolate bar,

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and you invest in that brand
again and again -

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not such a bad option, chocolate,
everyone loves chocolate -

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you are creating a steady flow of income
for the farmers who grow that chocolate,

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those cacao beans.

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They can invest in their homes,

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they can invest in healthcare
for the families

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and education for the children,

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including girls, which is often
the first thing to go.

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So, the loyalty for brands and products
can really make a great difference

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over the long term.

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There are a couple
of controversies with this case.

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There are many labels out there

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that are marketed to claim to solve
all these problems, and create jobs,

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and be the ethical, transparent,

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wonderful, gold standard 
that you can trust.

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Please don't be fooled by this.
You're all far too smart for that.

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'Fair Trade' as a phrase
and 'Ethical Trade' as a phrase

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are wonderful options to look for
when you're researching brands.

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But a lot of the gold standard
does not come into one label

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that you may see on a chocolate bar,
for example, a hang tag on a jacket.

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It may contain products, parts
of a product, that are not ethical trade.

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For example beans,

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some of the beans from a chocolate bar
may not be authenticated,

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the packaging may not be.

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So be smart and don't be fooled.

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There's another controversy too,

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many might claim that conscious
consumerism is an elitist philosophy,

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that it's only for the wealthy.

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Now, that's really not the case;

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it takes a little more time,
and energy, and perhaps resources,

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because these products
may be priced slightly higher

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than those that you get
at certain stores.

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Why are they priced higher?

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It's because people
are getting paid higher wages,

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they're getting paid a fair living wage,

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and isn't that something 
that you would want to support?

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Now, you may not be able to buy
an electric car, or maybe you can,

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but I think you could get a chocolate bar

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and wouldn't that make you feel good
to know that you are helping a family,

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a community for the future?

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In the case of fashion,
quality, not quantity.

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Think about your cost per wear - CPW.

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Now, when you buy
that inexpensive tank top,

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you may be able to wear it
a couple of times,

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and frankly, it likely will fall apart.

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And when you invest a little bit more
into a higher quality item,

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that you might know the origin,
not only will you have a better story

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and feel confident
that you are supporting someone,

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but it will probably last longer too.

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(Video)

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(Voice of interpreter) Saeeda Etebari:
I like this one the best

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because it reminds me of my village,

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when I go there and then they grow wheat,

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and they make bread out of it
for the family,

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so it's something that you can grow
and you can feed your family with.

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Interpreter: She likes this one too a lot.

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Katherine Parr:

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So that's my friend Saeeda again,
from Afghanistan, the jewelry artisan.

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I'm very proud to call her a friend,
because I'm proud of how she does,

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and what she speaks of.

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Saeeda was simultaneously able
to explain a jewelry piece,

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a luxury jewelry item,
as a symbol for economic empowerment.

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While you purchase a piece of jewelry,
a necklace, for example,

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and you're creating jobs and a livelihood,

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you're also getting a story,
you're getting something meaningful,

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and you can have the shared happiness

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that both you get from buying
something that you're proud of,

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that you can wear to a cocktail party,

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to a dinner party, to a concert,
and someone compliments you,

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you have a lot more to say
than just a brand name.

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You can say,

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'I know who made my jewelry.

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I'm wearing my values.'

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And that's a much better story than what
they say on the red carpet sometimes.

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Now, I think most of us know

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we are living in the fourth
industrial revolution,

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where changes in robotics

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and developments
in artificial intelligence

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is going to take over.

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So how do we survive in that environment?
And not just survive, but excel?

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Jack Ma said that it is the skills
of sharing and caring

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that will help us compete
with the robotics

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in the fourth industrial revolution.

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Well, I think, it's a little
simpler than that.

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He's not wrong.

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But if we take away the consumption,

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the accumulation of material goods

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and add some caring to that,

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it's a shared global happiness
that we can contribute to.

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This necklace is from
my jewelry collection,

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and this is a fashion revolution campaign

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that I appreciate and integrated
into the programme.

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We know that this woman makes our jewelry.

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Wouldn't you be proud
to wear something that says:

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'I know who made my jewelry.'

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It gives you a terrific story,

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and it's really something
that you can be proud of.

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So, tonight we're here
in a beautiful museum,

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with many influencers
and people with voices.

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I believe that each and every one of you,

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individually, and together collectively
can make a difference.

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I expect of you to engage
in conscious consumerism

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towards economic empowerment.

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And you could start small.

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It could be one necklace

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and just one chocolate bar at a time.

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(Applause)