At the 3rd International Social Responsibility Congress: Abu-Ghazaleh: The world is heading towards the worst inevitable environmental catastrophe

AMMAN – The Amman Arab University (AAU) has hosted the third edition of the International Social Responsibility Congress (ISRC) . The Congress was held under the patronage of Dr. Abdullah Maatouq Al-Maatouq, chairman of the International Islamic Charity (IIC) Board of Directors, special adviser to the UN Secretary-General, in the presence of  HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global) as guest of honour. 

The Congress was organized by the Regional Network for Social Responsibility (CSR) in cooperation with the Amman Arab University. It was attended by representatives of international institutions and agencies that are concerned with social responsibility from the Arab region and UN bodies.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh called for turning the Conference into a global institution, stressing that key issues tackled in the gathering should be associated with the themes often raised by the United Nations, in terms of human rights, labor, environment, anti-corruption, and community service. He also urged the need to focus on all issues related to environment attributed to their major importance at present time. 

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh further stated that the world is moving towards the worst inevitable environmental catastrophe, which he had previously warned about, more than three decades past, through a report released during his co-chairmanship of the UN Global Compact with the UN Secretary-general.

In turn Dr. Al-Maatouq said that the International Islamic Charity is one of the Kuwaiti charitable institutions that has successfully implemented more than 25,000 projects all over the world since its creation four decades ago. He pointed out that the donations provided to millions of beneficiaries exceeded $1.3 billion.

For his part, Mr. Munib Al-Masri, chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Quds Fund and Endowment; International Social Responsibility good will Ambassador in Palestine, stated that Jerusalem is currently under attack that intends to displace its Arab inhabitants; Judaize their Palestinian lands and obliterate the Arab and Islamic identity of the holy city of Jerusalem. He affirmed the need for an initiative from the Conference to support Jerusalem and strengthen the steadfastness of Jerusalemites, commending Kuwait's support for the Holy City.

Professor Youssef Abdel Ghaffar, chairman of the CSR Board of Directors (Kingdom of Bahrain), officially announced the establishment of the International Conference on Social Responsibility in the Arab Countries, as well as the launch of an Arab Community Responsibility Standard Project.

That is in addition to the launch of a digital platform for orphans in the Arab region and the selection of the Qatari city (Al Daayen) as the Arab Social Responsibility City for 2023.

In the same context, the President of Amman Arab University, Prof. Mohamad Al-Widyan, said that Social Responsibility has played an important role in the progress and development of many societies, pointing out that the "Arab world" urgently needs to activate this concept to achieve development and prosperity. 

Director General of Al-Salam Humanitarian and Charity Society, Mr. Nabil Al-Oun, stressed the importance of developing an Arab standard for social responsibility to develop efficient productivity of Arab institutions, promote sustainability and establish a performance appraisal approach. This is to expand humanitarian and community activities and reach larger segments of societies.

During the Conference, participants discussed a proposed business model for an Arab project to build a standard for Social Responsibility, and the role of Social responsibility ambassadors and community partnerships in leading efforts to adopt a standard specification for social responsibility in the Arab countries.