NEW DELHI: In continuation of its efforts to keep the contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), SOS Children’s Villages of India, NPO working in the area of child rights and welfare, organized a CSR Symposium to identify the drivers and opportunities of Business -NGO partnerships.
The symposium was organized on November 17, 2011 at India International Center, New Delhi, Ms Yasmin Riaz, Deputy National Director, Fund Development & Communications, SOS Children’s Villages of India informed INDIACSR.
The discussion was on how to maximize the business and social benefits of innovative collaboration with an Indian perspective.
Corporate Leaders address Symposium
The Symposium was addressed by various representatives from the corporate and the media like Ms. Joyatri Ray, Director Projects, ING Vysya Foundation; Mr. Manish Jain, Director Health Policy, Johnson & Johnson India; Mr. Joe Phelan, India Director, International Business Leaders Forum and Mr. Vivek Joshi, Advisor (CSR & Corporate Communications), Gas Authority 0f India Ltd.
The panelists aimed at highlighting the “Evolving Trends in business-NGO partnerships” . The session was on, to explore the opportunity in cross sector collaboration and identify new opportunities. Based on a research done by SOS in India the panelists gave their expert opinions and widely discussed the international trends in partnerships for both the corporate and the NGOs.
The objective of this research was to identify the areas of synergy and find ways of strengthening cross sector partnerships, which are crucial for strengthening societal structures.
Need of the Corporate-NGO Partnerships in India
Coming to the end of this Symposium, Mr Rakesh Jinsi, Secretary General of SOS Children’s Villages of India said, “There is a wide need of the Corporate-NGO Partnerships in our country as every business entity nowadays realizes their responsibilities of giving back to the society..”Corporate actively involved in CSR activities create a recall value for their company and their brands by connecting with their target audience on a human level and also the study initially looks at the wider global context and outlines generic developments and trends, including the evolution of corporate engagement from Philanthropy, to community investment to inclusive business models.”
The discussion explained that the visionary businesses have an opportunity to use their unique trusted status to lead a collaborative effort with NGOs and Government that capitalizes on the growth potential of India and creates a lasting legacy of equity and prosperity for all.
SOS Children’s Villages of India is a non profit, non-government, voluntary organization, committed to the care of children in need and to strengthening families and communities as a preventive measure in the fight against abandonment and social neglect. The aim & objective of the SOS Children’s Villages of India is to help parentless and homeless children by giving them a family, home and a strong foundation for an independent and secure life. SOS Villages of India is a member of SOS-Kinderdorf International, operational in 133 countries.
“SOS Children’s Villages of India” was registered as a society and came into being in 1964.The first SOS Children’s Village was established in 1964 at Greenfields, Faridabad, Haryana.
Since its inception in the year 1964 SOS Children’s Villages of India has expanded its services for children in need at a rapid pace. Today, there are 33 SOS Children’s Villages and a new village coming up at Tirupati, 122 allied projects like Kindergartens, Schools, Social, Medical, Vocational Training Centres and Outreach Initiatives spread across the country reaching out to over 15,000 children under Family Strengthening programme and 6135 children under family based care programme.