SLBS hosts major regional social responsibility workshop

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 – It was former first lady and recent candidate for the presidency of the United States, Hillary Clinton who popularized the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”. The fundamental message of this proverb is the collective responsibility a society must share for the future of its children. The proverb may be extended to beyond that responsibility we have towards our children to include all vulnerable and less privileged groups in our society. It is also true that for those who have more material and financial power, they should see themselves as vital to providing the means to help the most vulnerable among us. More often than not, it is the business or corporate community who possess these means. However, it is not just this community that must bear the responsibility but all other groups such as governmental and non-governmental bodies as well as civil society must be active participants in the whole process.

Companies and other entities may choose from a variety of ways in which to accomplish this task of social responsibility but thanks to the work of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a thorough framework is already being developed. ISO 26000 is a new international guideline for social responsibility that is still in its draft stage.

On Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27, the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) will be hosting an ISO workshop aimed at reviewing and critiquing its content and surrounding issues. Over a dozen delegates from Central America and neighbouring Caribbean islands in addition to over two dozen local participants drawn from both the public and private sector are expected to attend the two-day activity.

On the first day of the workshop, the Organization American States (OAS), will be collaborating with the SLBS and the ISO by participating in a joint working session. The OAS is itself hosting a national workshop on corporate social responsibility in collaboration with the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) from Monday June 23 to Wednesday June 25. The joint session will facilitate the exchange of ideas and knowledge on social responsibility among the four organizations.

This major regional workshop is expected to raise awareness of the current trends in social responsibility and to assess the implications for Caribbean and OAS countries. The SLBS has been an active participant in the drive towards developing this international standard on social responsibility hence its selection as the host organization for this week’s workshop. As the national standards body, the SLBS is keen to promote ISO 26000 as a critical developmental tool and the hosting of this workshop represents its commitment to the process of taking this important guideline document through to its final stage.

At the end of the workshop, participants will produce a joint statement on their commitment to this initiative which may serve as a guide for all other activities related to social responsibility efforts.

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