Being Concerned about Promoting CSR for about a Decade

Arasb Ahmadian, the congress secretary and the CEO of MAHAK in his interview regarding the CSR congress stated that this organization has focused on the Corporate Social Responsibility in the preface of its first strategic plan in 2006 and asserted that: "The first step for achieving this goal was holding a poster exhibition with the theme of childhood cancer and corporate social responsibility in 2009 and afterwards holding biennial CSR congresses on the occasion of International Childhood Cancer Day (February 15) with the aim of promoting this concept with the cooperation of business entities and civil society."

Focusing on the approach of the held meetings in the past years, Ahmadian continued: "MAHAK has held the first and the second CSR congresses in 2011 and 2013 focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility and childhood cancer. The theme of the 2015 congress was sustainable development and the 2017 one passing from theory to practice in the field of CSR."

In addition, the congress secretary added: "the 5th Corporate Social Responsibility Congress is going to be held with the themes of planning models, implementation models and reporting standards in the field of CSR. The target groups of this event will be the industry leaders, chambers of commerce, business entities, representatives from government, policy makers, university professors and students in the field of management and economics, senior managers and experts, private and governmental companies active in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility along with international cancer-centric organizations and NGOs."

The Most Reliable Index of CSR Evaluation and Measurement in the World

Ahmadian highlighted the workshop which will be held on the second day of this congress with the aim of introducing the method of reporting based on Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards. He added: "During this workshop, discussions will revolve around the methods of assessing the efficiency of the policies and plans of the organizations with various natures in social, economic and environmental categories. As a result of this, those concerned can access precise and accurate information according to their needs considering GRI indicators. It should be noted that reporting based on this model is recognized as the most reliable index of evaluation and measurement in the world and includes areas of activity such as economic, environmental, and social with the subcategories of labor practices and decent work, human rights, society, and product responsibility of any organization or service-providing institution."

Implementation of CSR Projects

In the end, the CSR congress secretary highlighted the cooperation of the chambers of commerce in Iran; outstanding university professors from around the world; Institute for Research and Planning in Higher Education; and Industrial Management Institute in organizing the biennial International CSR Congress in 2019. He added: "Joint social responsibility projects between charities and business entities create a two-way relationship, with the social capital of non-governmental organizations complementing economic capital of business entities. As a result it can be said that the two groups are not the parties of one transaction but they are each other's strategic partners trying to achieve the joint objective of creating new social and economic values in the society in a synergic fashion. Undoubtedly, without the cooperation of experts, organizations and national and international corporations organizing such an event will not be possible; therefore, we appreciate their invaluable contributions and efforts."

Ahmadian, in the end, pointed out the project of ‘Developing MAHAK's HLA Typing Bank’ which was introduced during the 4th International Corporate Social Responsibility Congress and added: "Supporting this project by a private sector company created the context for generating added value both for MAHAK and the other party since a great opportunity has been created for saving lives. In other words, the outcome of this partnership is everlasting, as in the future, with the sustainable development of this bank and provision of specialized healthcare in the field of transplantation, there will be increasing capacity to provide services to all patients in need of transplantation."

MAHAK believes that cooperation between NGOs, business entities and the government as the three main pillars of a society, will lead to the execution of CSR projects and obviation of the society's issues within their platform.

With the cooperation of research and educational institutions and in compliance with international CSR standards and by efficient utilizing of public donations as resources, cancer-stricken children will have more efficient treatment process. In line with inviting university professors, researchers, business entities managers and NGOs to have an active presence in this congress, MAHAK hopes this event, like the previous four, will take another step in promoting the concept of CSR and its practical development in the community. 

In accordance with transparency and accountability principles and with the goal of collaborating with interested parties, MAHAK aims to continuously inform its stakeholders about the process of this congress and its outcomes through its communication channels and other media.