The summit was held under the patronage of HE Minister of Telecommunications Boutros Harb

Beirut, Lebanon - 16 April 2015

"CSR Levant 2015", organized by Informa and under the patronage of H.E. Boutros Harb, Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications, expanded its footprint in the Levant with a 3-day summit that took place on April 15th-17th at the ESA Business School in Beirut.   The first edition of the annual summit brought together the most prominent CSR practitioners in Lebanon and the region for lively discussions on the future of CSR and the challenges they face. 

In the opening dignitary address,H.E. Minister of Telecommunications Boutros Harb, affirmed the significance of CSR in Lebanon and said ""Lebanon is among the leaders in CSR given the Lebanese conviction in the importance of progress, development and innovation."  He added, "The Ministry of Telecommunications is trying to foster this new culture and reinforce the importance of collective responsibility."

Stephane Attali, General Director at ESA Business School mentioned that, "CSR is all about building a sustainable future for the new generations.  It doesn't only rely on technology or innovation or on political decisions.  It is about implementing a real sustainable development which requires us to change our way of thinking and acting."

Marwan Hayek, CEO and Chairman of Alfa, managed by Orascom Telecom, the Official Telecom Sponsor of the Summit, shed the light on Alfa's CSR strategy by saying, "CSR is rooted in our company's DNA, and it is for us a three-dimensional commitment towards the Lebanese society,  Alfa's team members who innovate, create and market our services, and towards subscribers who benefit from them". He said that Alfa was among the first corporations in Lebanon to believe in CSR "and since 2006, we have demonstrated this commitment through founding "Alfa 4-Life" CSR program that targets children in communication need and helps them achieve their integration and full citizenship". 

Furthermore, Yasser Akkaoui, Editor in Chief at Executive Magazine, Chairman & General Manager at KConcept Holding & Chair for CSR Levant 2015, commented, "Through time we have noticed the evolution of CSR from a client-based to what we call today a performance-based CSR."

The opening day's sessions got off to an engaging start with a panel discussion on the topic "A Reality Check on CSR in the Region". Other session topics included: International Best Practice, Leading Sustainable Change, Green Banking, Fostering Social Entrepreneurship, World-Class Educational Framework, CSR VS Sponsorship, and Our Next CSR Generation. The second day topics included: CSR Driving SMES Forward, CSR Value Creation, , Quantifying CSR Success, Stakeholder Engagement, Advocating a More Inclusive Public Sector, Sustainability and CSR Reporting.  All speakers agreed that the most successful CSR strategies are the ones adopted by all levels in an organization and that companies that have sustainability and ethical business principles ingrained within their culture come a long way.

An awards ceremony, CSR Levant Awards  2015, was held on the evening of the opening day acknowledging organizations for their performance and success as amongst the best of the best in Lebanon and the region's CSR community. The honored winners were: Lebanese Autism Society for Education Improvement; Makhzoumi Foundation for Community Development; Intel Corporation for Employment Generation; Deloitte Middle East for Best CSR Integrated Organisation; and Injaz Lebanon for Best NGO/NPO.

CSR LEVANT 2015 proved to Lebanon and the region that there is a strong will within the corporate community to go beyond the core business operations and to see companies become main vehicles for social change.  And with the support of social enterprises, SMEs, academia, policy makers and NGOs, together they can create an ecosystem that will support long-term, sustainable initiatives that will have real social impact.

-Ends-

About Informa CSR Series
Running for 12 years, Informa CSR summits are designed to share CSR and sustainability excellence to help drive social and economic development throughout the Middle East and North Africa. These summits are developed by working closely with key stakeholders including government, corporate and the CSR community to ensure a sustainable future for the region in focus areas such as youth engagement, education, community development, employment, development of women, human rights and entrepreneurship

Informa Middle East, formerly known as IIR Middle East, has over two decades of regional experience in organizing and managing all types of business events including top quality conferences or training courses. Based in the UAE with offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Informa is an international company with some 100 offices around the world employing over 6,000 people in global events, academic publishing and business intelligence.

Visit www.csrsummitseries.com for more information on Informa CSR Series.

For further information about Informa visit www.informa-mea.com

For more information about this press release please contact:
Serene Itani
TRACCS
01/572001-2
Serene.itani@traccs.net

© Press Release 2015