By Sheila WILLIAMS
The Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) West Africa, the sub-region’s leading advocacy organization for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability issues, is partnering an international non-governmental development organization, Plan International to organize the 7th edition of the annual CSR and Sustainability Conference.
The Conference will bring together, major stakeholders in the CSR spectrum including speakers and participants from academia, business associations, private sector, regulatory agencies, civil society and the media. The Conference reinforces and aligns with the seventeenth Sustainable Development Goal: Partnership for the Goals.
Mr. Kojo Williams, Co-Founder and Lead Project Manager for the Centre for CSR, West Africa shared current challenges with CSR and Sustainability projects in Ghana and across West Africa: ‘There is a global reduction in the level of support for local and international NGOs. More so, there are more stringent requirements for accessing funds or grants to implement CSR and Sustainability projects. The trend will continue for the foreseeable future and triggering the need to look inward and harness the local power of partnership. Some players in the local private sector are living up to their expectations in devising and implementing projects that benefit society, other players in the CSR spectrum could tap into these existing projects and enhance the value for humanity and society as a whole.’
Plan international is a development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Led by its Country Director in Ghana, Mr. Solomon TesfaMariam, Plan International Ghana’s developmental projects are improving the lives of people, especially children and the girl-child, across the country. By extension, family units and communities are benefitting from the Economic Security, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Health and Education projects being implemented by Plan International. Though, the organization is doing so much, it is willing to partner and collaborate with local players in the private sector, to do more.
The private sector plays a key role in the development effort of any country – not just economically, but on a larger social and developmental scale that ensures sustainable growth and impact.
The Centre for CSR, West Africa has been at the forefront of advocating partnerships for development among SDGs and CSR stakeholders across West Africa, and has encouraged and influenced some successful development-oriented partnerships and projects. Two year ago, the Centre for CSR, West Africa was acknowledged by the University of Cambridge, UK, for its contribution to the university’s global research on ‘New CSR Models’ which studied more than 400 firms.
The Centre has contributed to creating awareness around the misconceptions associated with CSR and Sustainability in West Africa, while putting companies on their social responsibility and sustainability toes for their greater good and the benefit of other stakeholders, the environment and society at large.
The Conference will focus on harnessing local partnership among stakeholder, for CSR and Sustainability projects and causes, to be held on 12th July, 2019 at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.
