Businesses and NGO Public Relations Managers discuss corporate social responsibility agenda

On 19-20 November the British Council, Centre for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia, UN Global Compact Georgia, Eurasia Partnership Foundation and United Nations Development Programme organised a training for Public Relations/Communication Managers of business companies on developing their corporate social responsibility agenda.

Such training was identified as one of the priorities at the Tbilisi National Conference on CSR in July 2009. The general aim of the workshop was to enable 25 communications professionals from both local and international companies operating in Georgia to create additional value for their companies by mastering the development of strategic communications around responsible business practices, maximising the benefits of CSR in enhancing a company’s reputation and making CSR a part of the company’s public image, linking it to brands, accountability, and reporting. The workshop is being offered in all three South Caucasus countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The organisers would like this programme to make an impact on the development of CSR practices in Georgia. Dr. Wayne Visser, an internationally-renowned expert in the area of CSR and communications, led the training. Dr. Visser has served as consultant to a number of international companies, lectured on the subject in several top universities, participated in international think-thanks and policy bodies and published numerous books and articles on corporate responsibility and related subjects.

The participants admitted the importance of integrating CSR in the strategies of companies in Georgia and drew a distinction between real corporate social responsibility and philanthropy, Dr Visser said. “For countries like Georgia it is crucially important to develop the concept of CSR and develop a clear strategy on it. Giving back to society should be indicated in all fields like social, economic and environmental trends and then the companies will gain more than they spend on CSR.”