An interesting conference that may be of interest to communicators:

The MBA HEC Alumni Association Committee has the pleasure to invite you to the « 7 à 9 » Conference which is to be held on Wednesday 6th May 2009 at 19h00 at the Alpha Palmiers Hotel in Lausanne.

The theme of the conference is following: NESTLE CREATING SHARED VALUE: UTOPIA OR REALITY? The panel speakers will be:

– Christian Frutiger, Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé S.A.
– Christopher Greenwald, Director of Data Content, ASSET4 AG
– Manoj Kurian, Programme Executive for Health and Healing, WCC
– Guido Palazzo, Business and Society Professor, EMBA HEC Lausanne
– Marc Pfitzer, Managing Director, FSG Social Impact Advisors

While the world faces the current financial crisis, companies and the media speak more and more about the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) while continuing to support economic growth. How do big companies move from being purely profit oriented towards ethical business? How does Nestlé evaluate its overall corporate citizenship record, and how financial investors and NGOs evaluate Nestlé from this standpoint? What is the CSR impact on the core business and the success of the company?

Come and listen to a panel of speakers who will debate these questions. The conference will be in English and will be followed by an aperitif.

Free entrance, but the inscription is mandatory.

Please confirm your participation by sending an e-mail to the following address: julien.deperrot@leshop.ch by Tuesday 5th May at the latest.

An interesting conference coming up in Geneva on Wednesday, 22 April 2009:

Can strategic corporate social responsibility achieve both social and business objectives to overcome undernutrition and obesity? What innovations and successful partnership models will move the nutrition agenda forward?
 
Join the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), in partnership with CSR Geneva and Geneva Women in International Trade (GWIT), for a roundtable discussion with CEO of a leading food company in India, director of FAO, GAIN and the World Economic Forum (WEF) for a comprehensive perspective on these subjects. The event will provide participants with an authoritative understanding of the state of food in the world while addressing the complex spectrum of nutrition challenges, including the global food crisis, undernutrition and obesity. Examples of how these issues are being tackled through sustainable initiatives in both developed and developing countries will be highlighted.

Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Time: 18h00-21h00
Location: Hotel Intercontinental, 7-9 Chemin du Petit Saconnex, Geneva
Entry Fee: CHF 30.- , CHF 20.- for CSR Geneva and GWIT members, students and pensioners.
 
REGISTRATION: http://www.gainhealth.org/CSR

Energy Pact , the fiirst annual multi-stakeholder conference on global energy, environment and development issues is being held in Geneva – from 16-17 March 2009.  Some further information:

Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor of Germany, will chair the Conference. Speakers with different backgrounds and expertise will include Ali Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, GholamHossein Nozari, Oil Minister of Iran, Gary Ross, CEO of PIRA Energy, a world-renowned energy market specialist, Ashok Khosla, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and President of the Club of Rome, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Co-Chair, International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, academics from MIT and Harvard as well as visionaries such as Johan Galtung and the Swiss aeronaut Bertrand Piccard.

More information and registration>>

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is holding a networking and seminar event on Wednesday 18 March titled:
‘Branding crunch: keeping your  brand alive during a recession’, one of the toughest communication challenges today.

At the event, you will hear from a leading marketer – Ago Cluytens, Global Head of Marketing, Private Banking, ING Bank, and have the opportunity to network with other attendees.

Event details:

Time: Networking starts 18.30, seminar starts 19.15, close 21.00  

Venue: Hotel Bristol, 10, rue du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva 

Price:  IABC Members CHF 25, non-members CHF 35 

To register or for more information email Marcus Ferrar, President, IABC Switzerland:  marcus@ferrar.ch.

For International Women’s Day, Wednesday, 04 March 2009,  Geneva Women in International Trade is organising a roundtable on “Women Leading Change – Traction for Trade”:

Leveraging the unique concentration of female talent in Geneva – members of this interactive panel will explore how they create impact from the local to global levels, through leading change.  The event aims to draw us together around leadership in achieving women’s economic empowerment through trade.  Opportunities for engagement will be shared during the session with time for follow-up during the cocktail and networking hour.

Panellists:

Patricia Francis – Executive Director – International Trade Centre

H.E Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Ambassador and Head of World Trade, Switzerland

Myret Zaki, Head of Finance Edition, Le Temps

Richard Newfarmer – Special Representative to WTO and UN – World Bank

Moderator:

Ania Jakubowski – President – Geneva Women in International Trade

Further information and registration>>

On Thursday 5 March, SRRP are organising a roundtable (in French) on the theme of “Managing your reputation in a times of crisis”. Our very own Vincent Lusser will be speaking at the event.

En période de difficultés économiques, le défi pour les spécialistes RP est de trouver un moyen pour communiquer le juste équilibre entre objectif et performance, rétablir la confiance des principaux actionnaires et renforcer la réputation des entreprises.

Dans le cadre de cette nouvelle réalité économique, Burson-Marsteller vous présentera les résultats de l’étude Purpose&Performance menée dans 11 pays à travers l’Europe, parmi lesquels la Suisse, auprès de 200 dirigeants d’entreprise et faiseurs d’opinion influents: PDG et présidents, représentants du gouvernement, journalistes, ONG, professionnels de la communication en entreprise et universitaires.

Cette présentation sera suivie par une mise en perspective et un partage d’expériences, avec notamment la participation de Vincent Lusser, Chef de la communication interne du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR), Genève.

La soirée se poursuivra autour d’un apéritif par une discussion ouverte.

Further information and registration>>

Thank you to all the participants who attended our workshop at Lift yesterday. It was a very interesting discussion. Here are the slides summarizing some of the major points. 

Lift09 Networking Workshop Slides   

Stay tuned for some photos and video coverage of the session.

Enjoy the rest of the Lift conference!!

Patricia