(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Ten private, government and civil society organisations will be honoured for their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes at a CSR conference organised by Dar Al Sharq at Four Seasons Hotel tomorrow.
Under the patronage of Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor, Qatar Central Bank, and Chairman, Sport, Social and Culture Fund, the forum to be attended by about 250 representatives from the local business community will be opened by the Minister of Youth and Sport
H E Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali.
The award, an initiative of Dar Al Sharq, is the first of its kind at the national level.
Jaber Al Harami, Executive Vice President, Media and Publishing, and Editor-in-Chief of Al Sharq, said the initiative and the conference aim to introduce CSR initiatives carried out by some companies, encourage them to exert more efforts and motivate other firms to follow suit.
Al Harami told a press conference yesterday that these efforts come within the initiatives of Dar Al Sharq to fill the gap between society and the business sector, provide services to society and contribute to its advancement.
Dr Mohammad Jassim Al Muslamani, CMC Member and Chairman, CSR Awards Committee, said the panel chose the winners out of 30 firms which submitted their CSR reports.
Praising Al Sharq for the initiative, he said the award is an acknowledgement of Qatari companies' effective role in supporting society. Despite limited time, the first round of the award has seen big participation from the private and public sectors and the second round will witness more, he said.
Although there are similar awards in the Middle East, this is the first CSR award at the national level, he added.
CSR should be part of programmes of companies and focus should also be on public parks, streets and hospitals, he said, adding firms should be honoured for their CSR efforts. The forum will feature discussion sessions and the release of the second edition of White Book Qatar 2014 published by Dar Al Sharq annually.
"The book is an annual platform for companies to publish their CSR reports and raise awareness on CSR trends internationally," Babiker Osman, Editor of the book, told this daily.
The second edition features CSR programmes and activities of over 20 firms and scientific materials on how local firms can adopt good CSR practices, he said.
CSR, he said, has been a trend all over the world, including Qatar, because it is related to development of which various sectors should be a part.
CSR encompasses aspects such as human rights, fight against corruption, labour rights and environment protection although in the Arab world it is looked at as a form of charity, he said.
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