CUSO International on Wednesday held a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Workshop for members of Guyana’s private sector, at Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Kingston.
According to National Volunteer Advisor of Cuso, Nicole Dagher, the one-day workshop which commenced at 09:00 hrs and concluded at 17:00 hrs, focused mainly on demonstrating to members of
the private sector how CSR could benefit them.
It sensitised them as to how they could use CSR to be more strategic and as to how it could benefit their businesses.
Some of the companies that participated in the programme included Metro, Guyana Goldfields, Sterling Products Ltd., Amazon, Security Companies, Fly Jamaica, etc….
Guyana’s CUSO International representative, Melanie McTurk, in her remarks stated that CUSO International had hosted their first ever corporate engagement event in December 2013.
She noted that Guyana’s private sector has a long history of supporting its local community and is willing to sustain development.
McTurk stated that companies lack models of what to and how to engage in more impactful partnerships with the public and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to transform those charity dollars into systemic change.
She therefore added that yesterday’s workshop is the first step towards addressing this need and promoting the private sector in Guyana in realisation of this role in development.
McTurk noted that the facilitators varied from some of their own members of Cuso and also Deloitte, which many may know as the largest professional services network in the world.
In her closing remarks, she noted that Cuso International is interested in direct engagement with the private sector through corporate partnership and resource development activities.
Addressing the gathering, Head of Development Cooperation-Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Daniel Joly, stated that CSR is demonstrated when a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, with ethical standards and with international norms.
Joly also encouraged the gathering to participate meaningfully in the discussions and exercises that the programme has to offer.
Concluding, he added that the members of the private sector should consider how important CSR is, not only to the extractive sector, but to various industries across Guyana as well.
Cuso International is a registered charity in Canada that works to reduce poverty and inequality through the efforts of skilled volunteers.
Cuso International’s vision is “a world of engaged and empowered citizens working together to overcome poverty and to promote quality and justice…where all people are able to realise their human rights , develop their capabilities and participate in society.”
(By Navendra Seoraj)
