The Americas
Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility
September
22, 23 & 24, 2002
Miami, Florida
THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING of the Americas between
the business community, governments, multilateral
institutions and civil society that seeks to promote
greater awareness of Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) and encourage a dialogue to promote partnerships to enhance the living conditions of its citizens.
During the 2001 Summit of the Americas, the
Governments of the Americas agreed to convene this
meeting with the support of multilateral organizations,
representatives of government and civil society, and especially
the business community, to deepen dialogue and promote
corporate principles and practices of social and environmental
responsibility.
The main theme of the conference, “Alliances for
Development” serves to promote the exchange of experiences
and knowledge of the three sectors (the business community,
government and civil society) in order to work together to
overcome the challenges that beset our society.
The program, taking place over the course of a day
and a half, will have three plenary sessions for all the
participants. In addition, the agenda will include three
groups of three parallel break-out sessions each that will
allow the opportunity to establish an ample discussion to
enrich the debate on CSR case studies and best practices
in the Western Hemisphere.
In addition, during dinners, breakfast and lunch, political
personalities and prominent business leaders will share their
views and comments with the audience.
Partnering Organizations and Sponsors
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is leading the organization of the
CSR Americas Conference, with the support of the Organization of American
States (OAS) and the World Bank. Other sponsoring organizations, such as the
U.S. based Inter-American Foundation, are also collaborating actively in the
organization of the event.
The organizers are advised by a Steering Committee with the participation, among
others, of the Consejo Empresario de América Latina (CEAL), the Canadian Council
of Chief Executives, the Global Compact of the United Nations, networks and
corporate associations of the Americas (Ethos Institute [Brazil], Acción Empresarial
[Chile], Fundación Corona [Colombia], Fundemás [El Salvador], AliaRSE [Mexico],
Perú 2021 [Peru], Forum EMPRESA [Brazil], Fundación Empresa Sociedad [Spain],
AVINA Foundation [Switzerland], BSR – Business for Social Responsibility [US],
the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce [VENAMCHAM]), the Gleaner
Company [Jamaica], the Republic Bank Ltd [Trinidad and Tobago], the Initiative
on Social Enterprise from Harvard University and the governments of Argentina,
Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
How to become a Sponsor
CSR Americas invites private firms to sponsor or co-sponsor several of the
activities of the event. Sponsorship is needed to cover the costs of the conference’s
networking events: two dinners, one lunch, one breakfast and coffee breaks. In
addition, the organizers are searching for sponsors to cover the costs of a business
center, promotional materials, including folders, pens, conference memorabilia
and banners, and the production of conference publications.
Sponsoring organizations will have their logos displayed on the conference
website, e-conference, folders and conference materials, including banners.
If you wish to be a co-sponsor please contact Mr. Antonio Vives, Deputy
Manager, Private Enterprise and Financial Markets, Inter-American Development
Bank, at [email protected], phone (202) 623-1608 or fax (202) 312-4272.
Organizers: The Organization of American States, The World Bank, The Inter-American Development Bank
Sponsors: The Government of Canada and the Inter-American Foundation, among others
The Americas Conference on
Corporate Social Responsibility
September 22, 23 & 24, 2002 • Miami, Florida
“Alliances for Development”
Program
Why Socially Responsible Business
• The Evidence — benefits, impact and results
• Private Sector Perspective
• Government Perspective
• Civil Society Perspective
Successful Programs of Corporate Social
Responsibility
• Local Economic and Community Development
• Partnerships
• New Philanthropy and Volunteerism
Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility
• Role of Consumers
• Business as a role model to Business
• Role of Media
• Role of Civil Society Organizations
• Role of Oversight and Accountability Institutions
and Socially Responsible Investment
• Role of Supranational Institutions
Supporting an Enabling Environment for CSR
• Role of Government
• Corporate Codes of Conduct
• International Codes of Conduct
Speakers
The conference will have a wide range of speakers
and moderators that come from throughout the
Americas and will include corporate leaders with a
great deal of experience in promoting CSR practices,
government and civil society leaders, academics
and professionals from multilateral organizations.
Audience
Some 300 participants are expected to attend the
conference. Participants will include top business
leaders from large and medium sized companies,
high level executives responsible for Corporate Social
Responsibility, leaders from civil society organizations, academics and Government and multilateral
organization officers. The conference offers an
invaluable opportunity to network with leaders from
all over the Western Hemisphere—including North,
Central and South America and the Caribbean.
OnLine Forum
During the month of June, there will be an OnLine
Forum to promote the discussion of topics on CSR
in the Americas. Sample topics are: the trends of
CSR in the Americas, obstacles for CSR development,
successful experiences of CSR practices and what to
expect in the future. The four-week OnLine Forum is
co-organized and hosted by the World Bank Institute
at no cost to participants. To sign up for the OnLine
Forum, go to www.csramericas.org and follow the
instructions.
Contact Us
For more information please visit
our website at www.csramericas.org,
or www.iadb.org/csramericas.
You can also send your questions or
comments to [email protected].
FOR REGISTRATION visit the website (www.csramericas.org)
or request registration materials via fax to csramericas, (202) 312-4272.
www.csramericas.org