The Inter-American Development Bank will coordinate The Americas Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility: “Alliances for Development” on Sept. 22-24 in Miami, Florida, with the participation of Nicaragua´s President Enrique Bolaños. It is the first Hemispherewide meeting of its kind that brings together representatives of the private sector, governments, multilateral institutions and civil society.
The conference is a result of a proposal adopted by Western Hemisphere governments during the third Summit of the Americas, which was held last year in Quebec, Canada.
Among the organizations supporting the conference are the World Bank and the Organization of American States. The Canadian government and the Inter-American Foundation are sponsors, and co-sponsors include the University of Miami, the International Finance Corporation, Centro de Estudios para América Latina (CEAL), the Avina and Grupo Nueva organizations, Citigroup y Starbucks, among others.
Besides President Bolaños, participants include OAS General Secretary César Gaviria; IDB´s President Enrique V. Iglesias; Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Otto J. Reich; World Bank Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean David de Ferranti, IFC´s Executive Vice President Peter Woicke; and IFC´s Director of Latin America and Caribbean Department Bernard Pasquier, among others.
The conference will be inaugurated at Miami’s Intercontinental Hotel on Sept. 23 at 9:00 a.m. Later that day, President Enrique Bolaños will talk at a luncheon.
During the conference representatives of the different sectors of society will exchange views during panel discussions and other activities on the benefits, impacts and results of corporate social responsibility to promote development and improve the quality of life of the peoples of the Americas.
Approximately 500 persons are expected to attend, including academics, executives of large and medium-sized business, government officials and representatives of multilateral organizations.