Private Sector and Civil Society Connect at Corporate Social Responsibility Forum to Discuss Development Drivers in Egypt
Cairo – The 4th Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Forum was held this week (07-08/05) in Cairo, Egypt. Organized by CSR Egypt, this edition of the forum focused on development drivers and ways to be socially responsible in various sectors including education, health, housing and infrastructure.
IOM Egypt, the UN Migration Agency, attended the panel discussions and participated in the matchmaking, holding a booth and networking with other attendees to discuss best practices and lessons learnt in collaborating with the private sector.
Notable highlights from the panels include an exchange of ideas on how to encourage the formalization of income-generating activities in Egypt, and discussions of the banking sector’s interest in improving financial literacy. Several speakers underscored the importance of framing CSR within the Sustainable Development Agenda and Egypt’s Strategy for Sustainable Development.
Kristina Mejo, IOM’s Regional Liaison and Policy Officer for the Middle East and North Africa, participated in the panel on “achieving sustainable, inclusive growth through engaging women and people with special needs in the labour market.” Ms. Mejo spoke of the feminization of migration, highlighting that women today make up 48% of global migration. She further noted that women and persons with special needs are often disproportionately affected in the context of migration flows, which can in turn further challenge their access to the labour market.
The multidimensional nature of migration makes the involvement of the private sector an essential component of a coherent and comprehensive approach to migration governance: IOM’s participation in the 4th edition of the CSR Forum forms part of a broader strategy which looks to engage the private sector on IOM’s activities in Egypt.
IOM's participation was under the framework of the EU-funded “Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa” (RDPP NA).
For more information, please contact Monica Ibrahim at IOM Egypt. Email; mgibrahim@iom.int, Tel: +2 02 2736 5140/1.