AMMAN – The Amman Arab University (AAU)
has hosted the third edition of the International Social Responsibility
Congress (ISRC) . The Congress was held under the patronage of Dr. Abdullah
Maatouq Al-Maatouq, chairman of the International Islamic Charity (IIC) Board
of Directors, special adviser to the UN Secretary-General, in the presence of  HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and
chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global) as guest of honour.

The Congress was organized by the Regional
Network for Social Responsibility (CSR) in cooperation with the Amman Arab
University. It was attended by representatives of international institutions
and agencies that are concerned with social responsibility from the Arab region
and UN bodies.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh
called for turning the Conference into a global institution, stressing that key
issues tackled in the gathering should be associated with the themes often
raised by the United Nations, in terms of human rights, labor, environment,
anti-corruption, and community service. He also urged the need to focus on all
issues related to environment attributed to their major importance at present
time.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh further stated that the
world is moving towards the worst inevitable environmental catastrophe, which
he had previously warned about, more than three decades past, through a report
released during his co-chairmanship of the UN Global Compact with the UN
Secretary-general.

In turn Dr. Al-Maatouq said that the
International Islamic Charity is one of the Kuwaiti charitable institutions
that has successfully implemented more than 25,000 projects all over the world
since its creation four decades ago. He pointed out that the donations provided
to millions of beneficiaries exceeded $1.3 billion.

For his part, Mr. Munib Al-Masri, chairman
of the Board of Directors of Al Quds Fund and Endowment; International Social
Responsibility good will Ambassador in Palestine, stated that Jerusalem is
currently under attack that intends to displace its Arab inhabitants; Judaize
their Palestinian lands and obliterate the Arab and Islamic identity of the
holy city of Jerusalem. He affirmed the need for an initiative from the
Conference to support Jerusalem and strengthen the steadfastness of
Jerusalemites, commending Kuwait's support for the Holy City.

Professor Youssef Abdel Ghaffar, chairman
of the CSR Board of Directors (Kingdom of Bahrain), officially announced the
establishment of the International Conference on Social Responsibility in the
Arab Countries, as well as the launch of an Arab Community Responsibility
Standard Project. That is in addition to the launch of a digital platform for
orphans in the Arab region and the selection of the Qatari city (Al Daayen) as
the Arab Social Responsibility City for 2023.

In the same context, the President of
Amman Arab University, Prof. Mohamad Al-Widyan, said that Social Responsibility
has played an important role in the progress and development of many societies,
pointing out that the "Arab world" urgently needs to activate this
concept to achieve development and prosperity.

Director General of Al-Salam Humanitarian
and Charity Society, Mr. Nabil Al-Oun, stressed the importance of developing an
Arab standard for social responsibility to develop efficient productivity of
Arab institutions, promote sustainability and establish a performance appraisal
approach. This is to expand humanitarian and community activities and reach
larger segments of societies.

During the Conference, participants discussed a
proposed business model for an Arab project to build a standard for Social
Responsibility, and the role of Social responsibility ambassadors and community
partnerships in leading efforts to adopt a standard specification for social
responsibility in the Arab countries.