DOHA: Qatar’s first International Social Responsibility Conference concluded here with a proposal to formulate a national and institutional legal structure to organize legislation and determine the priorities and needs of the social responsibility programs.
That structure will act as the official and independent umbrella in partnership with private sector organizations and the civil society.
The three-day international conference was held under the auspices of Al-Faisal Social Responsibility Centre. It attracted a cross-section of delegates including ambassadors and over 40 researchers representing 14 countries.
During the closing ceremony, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, and a big number of the audience signed the “Al Faisal Social Responsibility Agreement”, which received a significant support from the participants.
The conference also called for efforts to integrate social responsibility in the mission, vision, philosophy and culture of the institutions, into the principles of private and governmental institutions.
It also proposed to promote the spirit of social responsibility amongst leaders in the various institutions and adopt it as the responsibility of the executive management. This should be brought under the supervision of the management plans in the institutions aligned to the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Other recommendations include: Raise community awareness of social responsibility issues through official media; and train and educate the public through the integration of the social responsibility values in public education and university courses.
-Establish a funding resource and research centres dedicated to social responsibility.
- Create a proposal that embodies a forward-looking concept for a comprehensive Arab initiative on Social Responsibility led by the Arab League, in partnership with its affiliated institutions, and in cooperation with all the relevant international organizations and institutions.
- Initiate the expansion of a general framework for corporate social responsibility incorporating the standards of responsible governance.
- Stimulate Interest in corporate social responsibility tools through sustainable projects; and simultaneously prevent the abuse of social responsibility practices by private and public entities.
- Establish a committee to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of the First International Conference on Social Responsibility, headed by Mubarka Al Marri, General Manager of Al Faisal Social Responsibility Centre.
A proposal submitted by the Media Department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Qatar; and Al Faisal Centre for Social Responsibility on the Second International Conference was approved. The next conference will take place on March 28-29 next year.
The conference covered a wide range of subjects including: Main platforms for social responsibility, social responsibility in education, social responsibility and the private sector, social responsibility from the legal perspective, experiences and practices of social responsibility in the energy sector, the reality of social responsibility, among others.
The Peninsula
