On the 15th and 16th September, International Conference took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, devoted to “Pandemic Challenges and Opportunities for Corporate Social Responsibility”, organized by the Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Arts in partnership with EUMMAS and Vilnius University (VU) Business School. The welcoming speech was delivered by D. A. Danilevicius, General Director of VCCIC, who told about the scale and scope of the conference, its main goals, and future directions of development.
The first day was devoted to Sustainable labour relations, and how they affect or impact our understanding of corporate social responsibility, and on the first day, Dr. Ignas Zimaitis, Academic Professor, and Lina Korizniene, CEO of Vilnius City Municipality Administration, both from VU Business School presented their ideas. The same day Dr. Hanna Shvindina, a member of EUMMAS and Professor from Sumy State University, presented the recent finding on her research in the sphere of regional competitiveness. The conference was face-to-face, yet other members of EUMMAS could join it online, as Dr. B.B.L. Madhukar did with his experience on changes in Corporate Social Responsibility During the Pandemic. The conference had seminars, workshops, and panel discussions, one of which was moderated by Dr. Birute Miskiniene from VU Business School. The talks were quite insightful and energetic, they put the attention of the further development of CSR in a new era.
The second day brought the unforgettable experience of communicating with Dr. Dina Yacout, EUMMAS member, who shared her expertise on gaining business sustainability during the coronavirus pandemic for businesswomen and start-ups in Egypt.
Dr. Dina is a Chairwoman of the general committee of businesswomen in the federation of chambers of commerce in Egypt, and Vice president of the Advisory Board, and Vice president of Women forums at EUMMAS Board; she explained how the pandemic formed new social movements in Egypt. The way economic institutions and government were united to facilitate entrepreneurship among women became an inspiration for other social activists presented at the conference.
This event attracted the representatives of many countries, including Lithuania, Ukraine, India, Egypt, etc. The live session on YouTube allowed many participants worldwide to take part in such a fantastic event online.
The conference became a platform for the ideas exchange in the sphere of CRS, in particular responsible consumption and production, recycling, social policy. This event helped to renovate the existing cooperation between Association members and establish new contacts for future fruitful projects.
By Prof. Dr. Hanna Shvindina
