Business leaders gather for launch of Business Coalition for Intercultural Dialogue and Cooperation.
Business leaders from countries around the world, including China, Spain, India, the UK and US will be gathering on 21 September 2009 to form an alliance to address the challenges of religious and cultural diversity of today’s global world. Working hand in hand with governments, policymakers, think-tanks and foundations, they will launch the first Business Coalition for Intercultural Dialogue and Cooperation at a high-profile event in New York.
In the wake of the global economic crisis and the increased risk of tensions across diverse cultural groups worldwide, this new Business Coalition for Intercultural Dialogue and Cooperation will help mobilize forces within the business community and governments to find innovative solutions to the challenges of living and doing business in a multicultural world.
Organized jointly by the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the UN Global Compact and the Research Centre for the Global Compact at the Levin Institute, the event will take place at the Levin Institute on Tuesday, September 22nd from 3:45PM to 6:15PM EST. In a keynote address, the Turkish Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will outline his vision of the business community’s role in promoting understanding and respect among cultures. He will be joined by top business leaders Mr. Antonio Brufau, Chairman and CEO of Repsol YPF and Mr. Yue Zhang, Chairman and CEO of China’s Broad Air Conditioning. H.E. President Jorge Sampaio, High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Office, and H.E. Dr. Ewa Björling, Sweden’s Minister of Trade will also share their thoughts about promoting cultural diversity.
In addition, the event will see the launch of a new publication aimed at raising the visibility of best practices in the corporate sector toward supporting cross-cultural relations. Jointly developed by the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the UN Global Compact Office, this report, pre-launched at the Second Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Istanbul, is entitled Doing Business in a Multicultural World: Challenges and Opportunities. It explores the cross-cultural challenges companies are facing, highlights good practices and lessons learned and illustrates why and how business can play a vital role in fostering intercultural understanding.
Click here to download the Business Coalition for Intercultural Dialogue and Cooperation concept note.
Watch a live webcast of the event on this website starting at 3:45PM EST on 22 September 2009. Click here to watch the webcast.