MUSCAT The global youth organization AIESEC in it's national chapter in Oman held a press-meeting at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) on Monday morning to announce the official launch of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Project under the name of "SustainOman" in a special symposium to be held next Thursday, 4th of November at 9.30am at the Shangri-La Resort, Al Bandar Hotel. The event on Thursday aims to introduce the project and its objectives to the society and corporate community and to overview the current status of CSR in Oman.
"Corporate Social Responsibility is different from country to country. NBO is privileged to co-host the first CSR symposium organized by the future leaders," said Aisha Abdullah Al-Kharusi, Head of Strategy and CSR at National Bank of Oman (NBO).
SustainOman is a unique project not only through its vision of developing CSR in Oman but also through the method aims to achieve that vision. "The project aims to impact the local definition of CSR and to introduce global best case practices on implementation methods of CSR in a unique manner through an internship program and a series of events," said Anjali Thakrar, President of AIESEC in Oman. The SustainOman AIESEC project will involve sending out twenty Omani students to work in CSR related issues abroad as well as receive interns to work in Oman and provide insight on global best case practices in CSR. And the end of their internships there will be a CSR symposium to capture all the learning points of the stakeholders involved and create a CSR Manual to be used as a guideline for any company establishing CSR strategies.
"Corporate Social Responsibility should not be a philantropic activity. It is possible for CSR to have a business case - this is where business innovation can come into play. So it will be a win-win situation for the business and for the community," said Professor Dr. Heba Aziz, Head of the Department of Sustainable Tourism and Regional Development at GUtech. GUtech is currently doing a research project on CSR in the hospitality sector.
AIESEC (Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales) is an international youth run organization established in 1948 and currently present in 110 countries. AIESEC in Oman was established in 2007 and it provides local students and recent graduates the opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial leadership and professional skills amongst a global network of peers and companies through taking on leadership roles and facilitating/taking part in an international internship program. GUtech students from different programmes have been actively involved in AIESEC events and projects since the launch of the organization in Oman.
The SustainOman project is run with the support of Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). MEPI is a unique program designed to engage directly with and invest in the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
National Bank of Oman (NBO) are partnering as the Platinum Project Partner aiming to have an active role in supporting youth engagement in CSR and taking part in the upcoming events. The launch event will be the most recent one in which we mark the launch of the AIESEC - NBO partnership and will be having Aisha Al Kharusi - Head of Strategy and CSR - as a guest speaker in the panel.
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For more information regarding AIESEC and SustainOman Launch Event on Thursday please contact AIESEC and Ms Walaa Hamdan at walaah@aiesecoman.org
© Press Release 2010
