Event report
IFCCI CSR Connect Seminar: Bridging Impact and Transformation
IFCCI under the aegis of its CSR Committee and with the support of the Embassy of France in India, organised the CSR Connect Seminar on 9th June 2023.
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Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IFCCI), under the aegis of its CSR Committee and with the support of the Embassy of France in India, organised the CSR Connect Seminar on 9th June 2023, at the Embassy of France, New Delhi.
Mr. Damien Syed, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of France in India welcomed guests at the Embassy and appreciated the intent of the Session gathering French corporates and not-for-profit organisations to discuss the potential collaborations. He also highlighted the emphasis that French companies place on boosting their CSR activities in India across different areas and their commitment in contributing to India's social and economic development.
Ms. Payal S.Kanwar, Director General, IFCCI, in her Opening Remarks, presented the recently launched IFCCI CSR Department. She also mentioned that this Seminar is one of the steps towards strengthening the IFCCI CSR Department that aims to provide a common platform to multiple member companies enabling them to use their CSR funds collectively towards projects that will be identified by the IFCCI CSR Department.
While setting the context for the discussion, Mr. Anurag Pratap, Chairperson, IFCCI CSR Committee & CSR Leader, Capgemini India mentioned that the objective of this interaction is to learn from each other’s experiences from their CSR initiatives across the country. He also urged companies to come forward and participate in IFCCI's CSR Department initiatives as this would bring in immense opportunities to NGOs through their association with IFCCI.
The highlights of the Seminar were the CEOs Panel Discussion on the Role of Corporates in the changing landscape of CSR and ESG, the NGOs Fireside Chat on the Role of an Aggregator in CSR and one-to-one meetings between NGOs and corporates present during the Seminar.
The CEO's Panel Discussion highlighted the role of corporates in the changing landscape of CSR and ESG. Ms. Payal S.Kanwar, Director General, IFCCI was in conversation with Mr. Amar Variawa, Country Director - Public Affairs, Sustainability & ESG, Michelin India, Mr. Matthew Foxton, India Regional President, IDEMIA and Mr. Sunil Goyal, Dy. Chief Executive Officer, Sopra Steria India, wherein they shared their perspectives on the evolution of CSR and ESG in today's times and talked about their commitment levels and CSR initiatives undertaken by their respective organisations.
The NGOs Fireside Chat revolved around the Role of an Aggregator in the CSR space and was moderated by Mr. Anurag Pratap, Chairperson, IFCCI CSR Committee & CSR Leader, Capgemini India. Ms. Basanti Caroline Roublin, Executive Director, TARA, Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research and Mr. Vinay Iyer, Chief Executive Officer, Action Against Hunger talked about the present CSR and NGO interface, the importance of a facilitator for large scale implementation of projects, protection of interest and work of smaller sized NGOs as well as the importance of maintaining balance between 'who bakes the cake' (implements the project) and 'who eats the cake' (takes the credit).
The Seminar was moderated by Ms. Rishika Roy, Head - Committees & Partnerships, IFCCI and concluded with Remarks by Ms. Maya Gupta, Senior Vice President - Strategic Partnerships, EduBridge Learning, Annual Patron - IFCCI CSR Committee.
This was followed by one-to-one networking between corporates and the NGOs present on the occasion. This Seminar was attended by over 90 participants and served as a platform for facilitating greater and deeper engagements between the stakeholders in the CSR space working at the grassroots level.
We thank our Sponsors for the event:
Annual Patron IFCCI CSR Committee: Edubridge Learning
Supporting Partner: Kreate Empowerment & Welfare Foundation
Food & Beverage Partners: L'Opera and Sepoy&Co
