Go

The first report on "Business Solutions for Human Development in Egypt" was launched in collaboration with Vodafone Egypt, the Ministry of Investment and the United Nations Development Programme

10 January 2008

In a conference organized by the Amcham in Egypt

The American Chamber in Egypt and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized an international conference titled "Corporate Social Responsibility" Engagement for a Better Future. The conference was attended by more than 600 experts and employees in the business and management field, heads of multi-national companies, and pioneers in the Business Sector, among others interested in development and corporate social responsibility in Egypt.

During the conference, under the sponsorship of Vodafone Egypt, the "Business Solutions for Human Development Report" was launched. The report was prepared by the UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment, and sponsored by Vodafone Egypt and Mansour Group for Trading. This is the first-of-its-kind report in Egypt to shed light on the role of the Business and Private Sectors, in addition to the development process through corporate social responsibility programs. The report is comprehensive; including details of the contribution of the Egyptian Private Sector in the development and social responsibility field through projects and initiatives executed by leading companies in Egypt.

The preparation of the report began last year. Field studies, extensive research, writing and editing of the report took up to 11 months through the participation of those concerned with social responsibility in the Private and Public Sectors, in addition to civil society and international organizations.

The conference held discussions on 3 focal points as follows:

  • How to create effective cooperation between those concerned with social responsibility;
  • how to apply social responsibility standards in companies;
  • and how to create an adequate legislative environment to activate the role of the Private Sector in the development process.

The conference was attended by H.E. Dr. Ali Moselhy, Minister of Social Solidarity; Mr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University; Mr. Mervyn King, Chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative on Social Responsibility; and Mr. Christian Thommessen, Head of Private Sector Division, Bureau for Partnerships, UNDP. The Vodafone speech was given by Mr. Yuakim Krokha , Corporate Social Responsibility Executive, in Vodafone Group, where he conducted a seminar on the said topic. Furthermore, many local and regional representatives from the Private Sector participated in the seminars.