Reverse Social Responsibility Expo on cards

Zimbabwe from October 26-28 in Harare, where over 30 communities are expected to exhibit their projects and interact with the corporate world.
The conference would cover social responsibility issues such as poverty alleviation, gender equity, environment ad HIV and Aids, which were identified as Zimbabwe’s Millennium Developmental Goals.
The Centre for African Women Advancement trustee Ms Rumbidzai Kahari said the aim of the Social Reverse Expo and Cconference was to put the communities at the centre of corporate social responsibility initiatives.
“We have invited communities to come and exhibit their projects and financial needs, which will give all delegates attending the conference an opportunity to interact with communities as they plan their budgets for the coming year,” Ms Kahari said.
She said a number of communities from all over the country will be attending, representing organisations involved in gender issues, environment, employment creation and HIV and Aids.
This Reverse Expo and Conference will also provide an opportunity for corporate representatives to share ideas with their counterparts in areas such as employee engagement and forming smart partnerships with developmental organisations.
“The tendency is for corporates to compete on the market place, however, bigger projects can be undertaken if corporates in different industries come together and pool resources for a selected sector they would want to support,” Ms Kahari said.
She said they were also looking forward to indigenous businesses attending, because as long as a business was making money in a community, whether big or small, they needed to invest in that community.
“A prosperous community is always good for businesses regardless of the location or size of that business,” she said.
She said some business executives, non-governmental organisations, schools and the community at large could attend the expo for free and interact with communities in order to see what ordinary Zimbabweans are doing to improve their daily lives.
The conference will be closed to pre-registered participants and will be comprised of several speakers with vast international and local experience in social responsibility,” she said.