6TH INTERNATIONAL CSR CONFERENCE
Ben Guerir and Marrakech in the premises of the UM6P from January 16th to 20th, 2023.
6TH International Social Responsibility Conference:
Pandemic: Vector of convergence towards sustainable development and a circular approach to our economy?
Mohammed 6 Polytechnique University (Morocco): from January 16th to 20th 2023.
The African Chair in Innovations and Sustainable Management-Mohamed University 6th-Polytechnique in partnership with the Center for Leadership Excellence (Sobey, Business School, Saint Mary's University, Canada), the department of strategy and social responsibility and environmental-UQAM, Africa Business School, co-organize the 6th Social Responsibility Conference of Organizations: “Pandemic: Vector of convergence towards sustainable development and a circular approach to our economy?”, International conference on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Initially French-speaking this conference aims to attract English-speaking researchers since 2018. This 6th edition which will take place in Bengrir, UM6P Campus (Morocco), from 16th to 20th January 2023.
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The organizers have the honor to welcome in plenary Mr. Marek Dietl, President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Mr. Luc Fortin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Montreal Exchange and Head, Global Trading Activities, TMX Group, and Mr. Tarik Senhaji, Managing Director of the Casablanca Stock Exchange who will talk to us about the evolution of financial markets and the integration of environmental, social and governance issues.
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A doctoral workshop will be held alongside the conference, including a seminar on writing scientific texts. This scientific event is held in partnership with the Management International (MI) journal, whose mission is to support emerging researchers. The journal is “A” ranked from HCEERS-2015 and in category 2 of the ranking carried out by the College of Learning Associations of the FNEGE-2013 and with the Studies in Business and Economics Review. The conference scientific committee will meet to identify the work presented at the conference that has the potential to make a significant contribution to knowledge related to the themes of the conference. Authors of this work will be invited to submit their manuscripts for possible publication in MI or in the Studies Business and Economics after considering the suggestions and requirements made by the MI and the Studies in Business and Economics reviewers, according to the practices and rules of double anonymity.
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Call and themes
In 2015 the Member States of the United Nations (UN) adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These objectives were intended to be unifying and interconnected. They were meant to be a universal call to end poverty and ensure the protection of our planet. However, with a decade of action remaining to achieve the sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030, it is clear that the pursuit of these goals will be delayed. While it must be acknowledged that some goals will have progressed, the UN notes that the measures taken in whole are insufficient[1].
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Thus, the UN Secretary General calls on all sectors of society to mobilize for global action linked to local and individual actions. We cannot achieve the objectives of sustainable development alone, everyone must get involved, universities, unions, the private sector, the media, civil society. The achievement of SD objectives concerns us all. Highlighting humanity's ability to push boundaries and innovate, the UN hopes that the measures put in place for the past decade will mobilize the entire planet to take bold decisions[2].
However, the pandemic is disrupting our ways of doing things, and forcing new collaborations. This pandemic brings new ways of conceiving globalization which is certainly not synonymous with convergence[3].
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On the economic level, there can be no doubt about the negative effect of the pandemic, overall, the choices are heartbreaking: choosing between protecting the weakest, a weakened health system, or allowing a return to a more normal life, the health crisis brings a general economic collapse. This globalization will have shown us how our lives and our economies are interconnected. But everything is not negative, the collaboration to accelerate the discovery of a vaccine, supported by the WHO, is a close collaboration between scientists, companies and global health organizations that aims to accelerate the search for a vaccine to stop the pandemic. In addition to targeting vaccine development, WHO-led collaboration also aims to ensure equitable access for all, because no one will be safe until everyone has access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
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We must therefore rebuild our economies together and we must keep in mind that these economies must aim for inclusive development, and development that targets all 17 sustainable development goals. The states are committed to investing in their economy because in the face of this crisis they must stimulate employment. They can decide to make this opportunity and these investments an opportunity. They have a choice, and they can invest in an economy that promotes sustainable development. Ten countries are already including SD commitments in their pandemic-related economic recovery plans. France aims to invest a third of its recovery plan funds to accelerate the greening of the economy. New Zealand devotes a large part of its recovery fund to environmental jobs as well as the restoration of conservation areas and wetlands[4]. It is therefore possible to plan to invest in this change. The pandemic is certainly tragic, but the investments that will result from it to revive our economies are an opportunity to radically reorient them.
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The pandemic will have shown us how we are interconnected, so we must use the lessons of this pandemic to better collaborate towards sustainable development. We can clearly see how our economies and our societies are fragile and it is not only developing countries that are suffering in the face of this pandemic. However, even though this pandemic has illustrated the fragility of our systems and the benefits of collaboration to respond to the societal challenges related to it, it must also be noted that the commitment to global collaboration and openness to others is certainly not the only response that we observe. We are observing around the world, and certainly with a very striking effect in the United States, a rise in populism which carries a discourse contrary to openness and collaboration; hatred, conspiracies, contempt for others, are certainly among the discourses circulating during this pandemic and which will have gained in popularity.
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Today there is a choice to be made: work together, collaborate to achieve sustainable development or close in on ourselves and hope that our already globalized economies do not bring yet another pandemic on our doorstep. It's hard to believe that another pandemic will ever come, it's hard to believe that we will return to closed and isolated economies. It is therefore important to realize that today's inequities weaken not only the economies of developing countries but also those of developed countries. Who knows where the next pandemic will come from. As António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, says: the pandemic “has unveiled the risks that we have ignored for decades: from unequal health systems, […] [to] the climate crisis”[5]. Closing our eyes and continuing to ignore these issues by reviving our economies without consideration for sustainable development would be to admit that we have learned nothing from this pandemic.
[1] https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/fr/development-agenda/
[2] https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/fr/decade-of-action/
[3] https://www.forbes.fr/business/comment-la-pandemie-transforme-notre-vision-de-la-globalisation/