Project Updates
Thu, 13th March, 2014 @ India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Under ‘The Collective Action’ Project and ‘UK Prosperity Fund’ Project four events were organized in the past 4 months. Brief description of each event is as follows:
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTEGRITY PACT: FROM COMMITMENT TO COMPLIANCE
A two-day International conference on Integrity Pact: From Commitment to Compliance was organized by the Global Compact Network India (GCNI) and Transparency International India (TII) on 9-10th December 2013 at India Habitat Centre in Delhi. The Conference was attended by around 150 compliance/ vigilance/ procurement officers from key public and private sector businesses of India, as well as delegates from UK, Germany, Rwanda, Malaysia, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Mauritius.
The Conference through its various sessions deliberated on aspects related to implementation of Integrity Pact (IP) and its achievement & challenges, roles and responsibility of Independent External Monitors (IEMs), procurement integrity, transparency in defence procurement, role of ombudsman in curbing corruption, red flags in procurement, whistleblower protection and integrity issues in e-procurement. Besides, the International experts also shared country experiences of public procurement and integrity pact. The participants of the conference recommended to broaden the base of IP there is a need to bring combination of expertise, trainings & secretarial support for IEMs, penalization for non-compliance of IP, explore the hesitation /reluctance of government organizations in implementing IP and motivate private sector businesses to sign the IP.
Multi Stakeholder Workshop on the Review Mechanism for the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UNCAC Coalition conducted a four day ‘Multi Stakeholder Workshop on the Review Mechanism for the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) from February 24-27, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The training was attended by government officials and senior civil society members from Asia Pacific Region. Ms Jot Prakash Kaur, Research Associate, Collective Action Project participated in the training. The training held separate sessions on interpretation of UNCAC and its various provisions, its review mechanism and the ways in which civil society could participate in their respective country review process.
Conference on Business Ethics and Corporate Transparency: Need For An Emerging Market Discipline
Global Compact Network India in partnership with Alkesh Dinesh Mody Institute of Financial and Management studies, Mumbai University organized a student conference on ‘Business Ethics And Corporate Transparency: Need For An Emerging Market Discipline’. With a vision to embed ethical values in management studies GCNI along with Mumbai University had announced a call of papers in December 2013. The best papers as a result of the call for papers were given awards during the conference. Ms. Chitra Nair Research Officer from Global Compact Network began the conference mapping the journey of GCNI especially elaborating upon the 10th Principle on Anti-Corruption.
In the backdrop of this paper competition, a business-academia dialogue was organized. Industry experts like Ms. Beroz Gazdar (Mahindra & Mahindra), Mr. Anthony Lobo and S. Chandran (TCS), Mr.Sriram Vinjamuri (Axis Bank), Col Arvind Gangoly (Schedulers Inc) and academicians like Prof. Ronald Berenbeim (New York University), Mr. Shiv Tripathy (Mzumbe University), Prof. Subhash Sharma( Indus Business Academy) were part of this deliberation on business ethics and management studies.
Anti-Corruption and Applied Ethics in Business Education: PRME Approach
Global Compact Network India along with Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and Indus Business Academy (IBA) conducted a half day workshop on March 3, 2014 at IBA ‘s Centre for C-School in Bangalore on ‘Anti-Corruption and Applied Ethics in Business Education: PRME Approach’. The workshop was attended by eighty faculty members and students of Indus Business Academy. Prof Ronald E. Berenbeim, Adjunct Professor, New York University, Prof Shiv Tripathi, Professor Mzumbe University, Tanzania, Prof Subhash Sharma, Director, Indus Business Academy and Ms. Jot Prakash Kaur, Research Associate Global Compact Network India were the main facilitators in the workshop.