24 Jan 2024

The first-ever Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) conference and corporate awards ceremony organised by CSI Concepts will be held on May 23.

CSI Concepts director, Mr Archibald Ngakayagae, told BOPA in an interview that the event was initially set for February 22.

He explained that the decision to reschedule the event followed a plea from several stakeholders who argued that the initial date would not allow them to meet the standards for corporate awards submissions and other relevant requirements.

“The primary cause of the postponement revolves around timing of the event, some of the stakeholders are concerned that if the event rolls in the first quarter of the year, it will not be favourable for them to execute their plans well and meet the necessary requirements, especially for the submission of the awards,” Mr Ngakayagae said.

He said it was important therefore to consider their concerns since they depended on various stakeholders for the success of the CSR conference and the corporate awards ceremony.

He added that the postponement, on one hand was advantageous because CSI Concepts managed to secure sponsorship that paid up for the majority of the overhead, which led to a decrease in the cost of the delegate tickets from P5 500 to P3 500 for each individual and P4 500 to P4 000 for corporate tickets.

The CSR conference would be held under the theme: “Transforming Business Strategies by Integrating CSR Objectives into Core Operations, Through Innovation and Forging Impactful Partnership for Sustainable Growth.”

He said some of the objectives of the conference was to assist various business entities to create and implement sustainable CSR practices and also forge impactful partnerships for expansion.

“This will also give participants an opportunity to gain insights cutting edge global and local CSR practices and techniques, a platform to encourage research and also exchange the latest innovations, trends as well as come up with strategic solutions to challenges encountered in the fields of CSR,” he added.

An additional awards category of tourism stewardship was also added to the initial 12 categories that included, the best in community projects, excellence in provision of literacy and education, CSR leadership, safety and health, innovation women empowerment and product excellence awards. ENDS