The FINANCIAL — On December 1, over 150 senior representatives of business, the United Nations, government and civil society organizations convened at the Burj ElFatih Hotel in Khartoum to launch the Global Compact Network, Sudan.
According to Global Compact, the launch event was organized by the AlBadayel Advanced Training Center, the Sudanese Businessmen and Employers Federation and the Ahfad University for Women, in collaboration with a number of government Ministries, UNIDO Sudan and UNDP Sudan.
Presentations and discussions served to introduce the UN Global Compact and its ten principles and provided participants with an opportunity to share practical experiences and successful stories from the country. Participants also explored possibilities for partnership projects aligned with the priority needs of the country and the advancement of private sector engagement and sustainable development.
The Global Compact Local Network Sudan was officially launched with Sudanese participants, MNCs with operations in Sudan as well as civil society organizations. The Steering Committee of the Network will define local priorities and raise awareness about the Global Compact and responsible business practices. The Local Network committed to work towards developing and sharing good practices that can be adopted to implement the ten principles in Sudan. It plans to organize workshops every year to help participants address relevant issues and to ensure active engagement of participants in the initiative.
This launch event was the culmination of two years of local efforts to lay the groundwork for a Global Compact Network. Interest began in May 2006, with a Forum in Khartoum on “Public-Private Partnerships in Post-Conflict Societies”, organized by the United Nations Development Programme and Ahfad University for Women.
