UN’s Business for Peace kicks off in Egypt

CAIRO - 7 November 2018: The UN Global Compact Network Egypt launched on Wednesday the two-day fifth edition of its the 2018 Business for Peace Annual Event (B4P) for the first time in Cairo.

With the aim of discussing how socially responsible business can set the stage for a better future, the event brings together business representatives seeking to engage in peace and humanitarian action. Previous editions were held in Istanbul, New York, Dubai and Colombia, where more than 1,000 stakeholders convened.

“We are tremendously proud that Egypt will be leading the mission to gather world business leaders to support peace and inspire further action in corporate social responsibility,” said Muhammad Al-Fouly, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Egypt.

The 2018 Business for Peace conference comes under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning, and is sponsored by Global Consolidated contractors and EFG-Hermes in collaboration with the UN Peace building Support Office, the International Organization for Migration, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) as well as the UN Information Center in Cairo and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

More than 300 representatives from the business community, including multinational corporations, small- and medium-sized enterprises, business associations, government representatives, NGOs, UN Global Compact Local Networks, academia, and the UN are expected to take part in this year’s event, the UN Global Compact Network Egypt announced ahead of the event.

“It is time for business to take concrete action to build peace and address the pressing humanitarian challenges. I am delighted that the B4P Annual Event is being graciously hosted by the Global Compact Network Egypt to address these important topics,” Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact said.

The B4P event is aimed to scale-up private sector contributions and partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Sustaining Peace. It will also highlight the role of the private sector in humanitarian crises and complex emergencies, focusing particularly on people affected by conflict.

The third aim is to motivate and expand the Business for Peace community, by sharing experiences, emerging practices and learning, with an emphasis on moving beyond anecdotal examples to systemic solutions.