March 24, 2008. Shanghai campus. - This year’s Being Globally Responsible Conference, the third since CEIBS students MBA initiated the programme in 2006, is expected to attract almost 300 participants from about 50 b-schools. To be held under the theme “New Horizon, Better World”, this year’s conference will be from June 6 to 8 at the CEIBS Shanghai campus.
The three-day forum will feature speeches from some of the world’s most respected leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) such as Frederick Dubee, senior advisor to the UN Global Compact and Nancy Barry, former president of Women’s World Banking and president of Nancy Barry Associates (which coordinates the Environmental Solutions to Poverty project). CEIBS students have also engaged pro-CSR multinational corporations such as Envonik Degussa, Atlas Copco, Gamesa and Bayer China as conference sponsors.
Conference topics will include - but are not limited to - environmental protection, sustainable development, corporate governance, sustainable energy usage, poverty reduction and social entrepreneurship. BGRC will engage well-known speakers from different spheres, such as NGO’s, academia, and experts on the various subjects being discussed, who will share their experiences and challenges related to sustainability and social responsibility.
In addition to group workshops, movies and networking opportunities, there is also one new feature for this year’s conference: on the third day CEIBS students will host the final round of INNOVATEChina Global Innovation Challenge. The competitors are MBA students, finalists from some of the world’s top b-schools, who will vie for a grand prize by providing innovative solutions for corporate sponsors that are focusing on CSR issues in China.
For the most part, the BGRC targets MBA students from the Asia-Pacific region. This year’s participants will represent b-schools from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Spain, Denmark and the US. The thinking is that today’s graduates will become tomorrow’s business and economic leaders; thus, it is crucial to equip them with the knowledge and sense of responsibility needed to create a healthy, ethical and sustainable economy. This is the BGRC’s mission.
Another key objective of the Being Globally Responsible Conference is to provide metrics and tools to integrate social responsibility into a corporate strategy within any industry. This year’s conference will focus on familiarizing students with current issues, shaping CSR-conscious mindsets, as well as convincing future business leaders to explore the possibility of incorporating CSR practices into their careers.
To date, BGRC is the biggest event managed by b-school students in the Asia-Pacific region.
