My supervisor, Annie Vial, recently went to a conference in El Salvador that was sponsored by the GIZ (formerly known as GTZ), INTEGRARSE, and SUMARSE. Integrarse and Sumarse are both foundations that work with Corporate Social Responsibility issues, and GIZ is Germany’s foreign aid agency.
The conference was called, "Transferencias de la Metologia de Mentoring," and it covered topics such as
1) How to implement a mentoring Program
2) How to guide mentors and mentees
3) Types of Mentoring Programs
4) Recommendations on how to be an effective Mentor
The goal of the conference was to train program managers to conduct mentoring programs for women leaders in small and medium enterprises. This conference is only one of many workshops to come that seeks to make mentoring programs more robust in Latin America.
The women who participated came from El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama and all received a Diploma upon its completion. They had two key action items to complete upon receiving the Diploma.
A. Receive RSE certification
RSE stands for responsabilidad social empresarial or corporate social responsibility (CSR). I asked Annie why it was necessary to receive the RSE certification, and she said it was a guarantee of program quality. In order to get the RSE, Annie will have to design an agreement with SUMARSE, a renowned CSR foundation in Panama. As part of the agreement, VVPA's projects will fall under SUMARSE's programs, and both organizations will work together in future projects.
Overall, I think it's a great idea. As everyone is saying here in Panama, CSR "es muy de modo" or "it's very in," which is as true here as it is in the U.S.A.. Having the RSE certification and the partnership with SUMARSE will attract future partners to VVPA and place VVPA in the arena they need to be in -- creating viable economic opportunities for women in Panama.
The certification reminds me of a project my roommate carried out this past semester. She researched the meaning of CSR and how different organizations utilized this ‘brand’, focusing on Net Impact, a student organization I'm involved in at GWU. My roommate interviewed three of Net Impact's Board Members (including myself) and the results were eye-opening. Each of us had a different response for how Net Impact defines CSR…that's bad, right? Maybe not.
According to her paper, adopting a flexible, less defined CSR definition is helpful because it allows organizations to pursue a wide-range of activities. Everything from constructing green roofs, to holding a conference on alternative energy solutions, to managing a mentoring program for women entrepreneurs can be considered CSR if you adopt a broad definition.
However, using too broad of a definition can lead to some fuzzy situations. For example, should something like using recycling bins qualify businesses for a RSE certification? No. Under an expansive definition though, recycling bins might qualify a firm for an RSE certification. Don’t we want more from the RSE brand? If a RSE certification is to have real value, it must have a meaningful and clear definition.
Furthermore, once you have the RSE certificate, how are you accountable to it? How will GIZ and SUMARSE follow-up with VVPA and the other participants to assure they are adhering to the RSE brand?
B. Train 10 Mentors
Annie informed me that each conference participant must return home and train at least ten mentors by August 15th, and launch her Mentoring Program by August 30th. VVPA already has double those numbers, and will have started its program by August 8th. These requirements are a good start. I’m anxious for SUMARSE’s website to start working again, so I can read up on its differing policies related to RSE programs.
Corporate social responsibility is an important and relevant issue today. It would be a shame, then, if lax certification processes damaged its reputation as a powerful tool for development.
No comments:
Post a Comment