Connect 2007 - linking today's leaders

Connect is over!

2007-04-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Incredible!!! The last days were some of the most intense and crazy times I ever had, and I hope for some of you it has been the same. Thanks to everyone who came to Connect 2007 to discuss, meet and of course connect with old and new friends. I hope you all learned lots around Corporate Responsibility and other topics and enjoyed your time in Biel.
In the name of the whole OC I would like to thank all the delegates for participating so actively in all the sessions and especially for helping us cleaning up whenever we needed you!

In the album below you can find some pictures from the last two days, watch this space for more output from the conference such as the ideas from Saturday. We'll let you know (probably by email) as soon as we have the online access to all the inspirations.

Connect 2007

Applications for delegates are open!!!

2007-03-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

Cool speakers and workshop topics: check
Amazing location, centrally located: check
Sponsors secured: check
Motivated OC to run the whole thing: check

So what's missing? Delegates of course!

So here I present to you:

Information package (Topic, Agenda, etc.)
Application form

APPLY NOW!!!
The deadline to fill in the application form is 25th of March. (Email address where to send it to can be found in the form)

As these links only work if you have access to www.aiesec.net, please write to info@connect2007.ch if you don't have access but would like to know more about Connect 2007 and apply for it.

Some facts about Connect 2007:

Topic: Corporate Social Responsibility
When: 13-14 April 2007
Where: Biel-Bienne
Participation fee: 90 CHF for both days, this includes a train ticket (round-trip) from any location in Switzerland to Biel
Accomodation: can be arranged

Looking forward to seeing you there!!!

OC Team at BrainStore

2007-03-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

To check out the location, discuss room allocations and fix some content and logistical details with BrainStore the team went to Biel last Tuesday.

If you too want to get a taste of what the environments of Connect will look like, as well as have a first flavour of what Saturday might look like you can check it out here. This is the movie that was shot by 3sat, documenting the idea finding process, very cool insights into the BrainStore methodology (if that word exists :-))

Updates

2007-03-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

Hello visitors of this little space on the web!! (there are at least some of you, I've checked :-))

updates of today:

Don't forget to apply for extended OC (more information below), deadline is 7th of March and we'll be making sure this is not a normal @deadline :-)
Application for delegates will soon be promoted, first over @.net (pray for us that it's working)
One more workshop on Friday to choose from: Matthew Sutter from Novartis will be joining us to talk about their "Living Wages" project. Details of the workshop are still being worked out but you can have a look here, where the Corporate Citizenship activities of Novartis are presented
Concerning the workshop of the Ethos Foundation, it will be led by Mr. Jean Laville, Deputy Director of Ethos, talking about "Responsible Shareholdership", the responsibility of investors and how they can react to "irresponsible" companies.

connecting:

If you have any feedback, tips etc. to give to us, we're always happy to get comments :-)

Thanks for all of you who commented so far, compliments make our day!

Application for extended OC is open!

2007-02-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

Since @.net doesn't want to send emails on a Sunday afternoon, here comes the latest opportunity to help in organising the coolest event of the year ;-) read on:

Hey everyone!

Certainly you've heard already of Connect 2007. If not here a short description: Connect 2007 is a two days event bringing together students and experts to discuss different aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility. It will take place in Biel in the office of BrainStore, the IdeaFactory. The delegates will attend speeches from keynote speakers and participate in workshops led by experts in various fields of CSR, like environmental issues, community involvement and human rights. Confirmed speakers are, among others, Dr. Markus R. Neuhaus, CEO PricewaterhouseCoopers, Stefanie Koch, CSR Coordination, Holcim Group, François Mercier, Brot für Alle and representatives of WWF International and Amnesty International.

You have now the great opportunity to be part of the organizing committee of this event! We are looking for 7 highly motivated people who will join our team as extended OC members. Are you ready to work hard, to meet outstanding externals and to have fun in a great team? Then apply for extended OC for Connect2007. You can find the Application Form HERE.
Fill it in and send it to joan.vozeh(at)aiesec.ch until the 7^th March 2007.

Soon, application for delegates will be out, so keep on checking our blog for more news.

Your OC of Connect 2007

Breaking news!!!

2007-02-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Well, exams are over and so we go beyond the random office video stuff and back to work, well actually most of the work in the last weeks has been done beside having exams, big applause for my great team who managed to work 200% for both uni and Connect!!!

Some results can be seen further down, where you get the newest speakers list as well as the topics (this is still subject to change however, so don't be disappointed if we change the topics still slightly), other results such as the sponsors we secured or the ad we'll be having in CASH or the flyers we created to promote Connect are more in the background and will only reveal themselves in the coming weeks or on the 13th/14th of April.

Soon we'll be coming to an LCM near you to tell you more about what's happening at Connect and why YOU should be there ;-)

Welcome & Key Note Speech

Dr. Markus Neuhaus CEO PWC “How is PricewaterhouseCoopers fostering CSR?”

Workshops

Stefanie Koch, CSR/SD Coordination Holcim “Community Involvement”
François Mercier, Brot für Alle „Labour Standards in the IT-Industry"
Eduardo Gai, SAM Group „Socially Responsible Investment”
Bettina Ferdman Guerrier, Philias „Reputation Management“
Liz Umlas, KLD Research & Analytics „Labour Standards and Human Rights in the Textile Industry"
Regina Reinhardt, Intercultural Coach „Intercultural Aspects”
Ethos Foundation, "Sustainability Reporting"
Christa Schwaller, Remei AG "Social and Environmental Standards in the Supply Chain"
Luzius Wasescha, Botschafter, Delegierter des Bundesrates für Handelsverträge, Chefunterhändler der Schweiz in den WTO-Verhandlungen
Ivo Kaufmann, Ressortleiter internationale Investitionen und multinationale Unternehmen, Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft seco, Bern

Panel Discussion

Facilitator

Ernst Brugger, Brugger Consulting and Sustainability Forum Zurich

Participants

François Meienberg, Erklärung von Bern,
Liz Umlas, KLD Research & Analytics
Stefanie Koch, Holcim
Eduardo Gai, SAM Group

Closing Speech & Wrap up

Guido Palazzo University of Lausanne, Wrap-up of the event
Bettina Ferdman Guerrier CEO Philias, Outlook on the future and motivational speech

Connect2007 Office tour

2007-01-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

What you do when you are really busy no matter in witch team you are ;).

Your Connect2007 Team

Looking for ER support

2006-12-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

What is this all about:
As you shurely read or will read in the wonderful MC newsletter the Connect2007 Team is looking for some people to support the ER team to contact companys.

What do we expect from you:
Invest 2 hours per week during January and February in calling up potential partners by phone, do the follow-up and report to ER responsibles Joe and Sara is the major part. Also there has some company research to be done, but just a little. Most of the time you can work with an existing company list.

What you can gain from it:
You are able to improve your selling skills and so you can gain an ER experience and for shure you can work in a national project of @CH within a team with drive, the Connect2007 Team.

What to do:
until 3.January 2007: write to Joe (johannes.vanderveer@aiesec.ch) and Sarah (sarah.renfer@aiesec.ch) stating who you are, what your motivation is and what your current level of understanding of Connect 2007 is.

We are looking forward to your mail.
Your Connect2007 Team

Confirmed speakers

2006-12-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you'd like to know who the great people are that will be present at Connect 2007 to share their knowledge with you and challenge you in the different workshops.

Here's a list of who we have so far:

Walter Fust, Director Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Markus Neuhaus, CEO PwC Switzerland
Bettina Ferdman Guerrier, CEO and Founder of Philias (Network of companies participating in the Global Compact)
Ernst Brugger, Brugger & Partner AG / Sustainability Forum Zürich
Regina Reinhardt, Intercultural Coach
Guido Palazzo, Professor HEC Lausanne
Representatives of Amnesty International, WWF International, Brot für Alle, SECO

Case Study aspects defined!

2006-12-20T05:58:00.000-08:00

We've been working on defining the different aspects of Corporate Responsibility that we want to look at during the first day of Connect 2007.
These are different workshops that will be led by experts, discussing challenges that a fictitious company is facing.
These aspects are still subject to change, as we're still working on the final Case Study that the participants will be working on, but we wanted to give you some more details anyways :-)
Is there anything missing? Do you think we forgot an aspect that has to be there for sure? Please let us know what you think about it in the comments!

Case Study

The first day is centered on the solving of a Case Study, a real world example of a company or organization that has to deal with different aspects of CSR. In thematic teams under the supervision of an expert, delegates first get a theoretical introduction and then work on solving the case in relation to their chosen aspect. Those aspects could include: environmental protection, financial aspects, labour security, human rights, etc.
The teams will present their findings to the audience where a moderator will facilitate session as well as the following panel discussion. The aim of the first speech will be to provide a holistic view on the challenges faced by companies in regards to CSR and how a specific company reacts to them. A panel made of 3-4 experts will then play the role of “challengers” to stimulate further thoughts.

Topics
A Swiss company discovers the advantages of the Asian business location and expands to China in order to lower production costs and to be able to get important market shares.
During this process the company is involved in several difficulties relating to Corporate Social Responsibility.

Corruption
The reputation of the company is threatened by a corruption scandal.
The fight against corruption is a fundamental part of the responsible business agenda. The private sector shares responsibility for the challenges of eliminating corruption and has to demonstrate a new willingness in the business community to play its part in the fight against corruption.

Environmental issues
Mainland China's increasingly polluted environment is largely a result of the country's rapid development and consequently a large increase in primary. The company has to consider their responsibility towards the environment.
Key environmental issues:
- Emissions to air (greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances)
- Emissions to land (waste)
- Resource usage (use of water, mineral resources and materials purchased)
- Energy (source, transportation, consumption; gas, electricity, coal, renewable energies)

Community Involement
The company wants to do a community project to involve and support the community where their production is based.
Community involvement of companies becomes more and more a crucial part of their engagement towards their stakeholders. it is also beneficial to the company because it increases their local reputation and it contributes to a higher living standard of its workers.
Community involvement can include amongst other things:
· Health and social issues dealing with the family
· Educational programs
· Community development programes

Human Rights / Core Labour Standards / Health & Safety
Several of the firms in the companies supply chain are invovled in different Labour & Human Rights issues.
Over the last decade, changes in the structure of world trade and investment have increased the exposure of the business community to human rights issues. Foreign direct investment by companies in manufacturing operations in China has grown exponentially. As a result, companies increasingly are publicly being held accountable for labor rights & other human rights abuses in factories that make their products.

Outsourcing
By expanding into China the company has taken the decision to outsource. But what is their responsibility towards their workers in Switzerland? And what difficulties are they facing in China?
The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering firm costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the competencies of a particular business, or to make more efficient use of worldwide labor, capital, technology and resources.

Reputation Management
One of the most valuable assets that any company has is its reputation. CSR is a business imperative. It should ultimately be mutually beneficial to both the giver and receiver. But how can a company implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes that closely match the business objectives?

Intercultural aspects
The expansion into another culture is not always easy. The company representatives have to deal with a lot of communication and intergration problems in China.
How to adapt a global CSR strategy on a local level? How to improve the communication and the understanding between the conmpany and its local stakeholders?

What's up?

2006-11-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

The OC seems to be hardworking, right?
Don't worry, some absence from blogging doesn't mean nothing is going on, it's actually quite the opposite, everybody is busy with meetings, working on our concept for Connect (aka, the famous CaseStudy :-), oh, and of course we're all studying besides that and papers and tests are waiting for us too.

You can look forward to finding out more about what Connect will look like and the first speakers we have confirmed in a bit more than a week, at Do-it! So far we're happy to hear about the different Pboxes that are getting started in the LC's and we're looking forward to providing interesting sessions for all those working on issues linked to CSR!

Do you want to know who are the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world? Sara found the link to the list, you can see it here. We'll for sure try to get some of them to come to Connect, do you have any other companies, personalities or organisations you would like to meet at Connect? Let us know!

It's linking time

2006-11-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

While my team is working hard at home to make Connect 2007 happen, I'm enjoying the challenge of facilitating at WeGrow, learning about all the logistical traps we'll keep in mind for next April :-)

This afternoon I'll be facilitating a learning circle around CSR and Sustainability and I wanted to share with you another website where you can find especially briefings of different CSR aspects such as business ethics, community partnerships, environmental aspects like energy efficiency and green product design, governance and accountability, or human rights. Check out the Business for Social Responsibility website.

There were representatives of AIESEC International at the Business as an Agent of World Benefit (BAWB) Forum in the US last week, you can read about their experience on the AI blog.

cya soon, Sarah

Phone action

2006-11-06T02:45:00.000-08:00

Dear companies be aware, you might get a phone call where somebody says: Hello my name is Mr. Pink, I am a member of AIESEC who is organizing a conference called Connect2007 and TO SUPPORT US!

Hugs
ER Connect2007

We are just AIESEC members...but

2006-11-02T03:06:00.000-08:00

Even when we are officially members of Connect2007 Team and are posing around like this:

we are also very ordinary AIESEC members and that includes basic @-work like making class interruptions, or explaining what @ is at an information desk (...well what is aiesec? yes you are right now there starts the explanation about the three pillars...uhhh fancy..). Even more when our home LC's are in "deperate need" for help. So we give something back when for crashing their office and block it day by day.

Hugs
Connect2007 Team

Now serious....

2006-10-31T02:11:00.000-08:00

As we organize a conference in regards to CSR, a good information background is necessary. So we collect as much information as possible from the world wide web.
For all the @-Members who are interested in this topic and who want to prepare themselves for the conference, we will add some webpages about the conference topic.
The first page we add is:

www.csrwire.com

CSRwire is an US-based webpage who publishes pressreleases about different happenings in regards to CSR consisting of Enterprises and other organizations.

Take a look and get a CSR-knowledge-monster :)

Hugs
Connect2007 Team

ok go by the connect oc

2006-10-30T09:52:00.000-08:00


the connect oc at act06

Day One rest of the day....

2006-10-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

After this "who are you? I am"-session we went to a spa resort in Baden to bath, sweat, freeze and chill. As we don't want to shock the AIESEC community, no (nude) pictures will be displayed.

Even doing nothing (except for enjoying the spa) makes you hungry.

Hungry Connect Version

So what better than having a spicy Eating Connect Version

mexican dinner and drinking corona

(or weissbier for joe and the teddy bear).

Spending your evening with 16 year old drunk Swissgermans isn't the most fun thing to do. It makes you realize how old you are (even Joe felt old) and that Tequila tastes blääääääähh.... So Joe started flirting with Sara's Cat.

That was day one... Day two we had a photo shooting...

2006-10-30T02:35:00.000-08:00

ok go

Here it is, the inspiration of our famous ACT dance. The band created an unofficial Team motto "ok...go!"

Aaahhhh.... we are such a relaxed team

2006-10-30T01:57:00.000-08:00

We still feel relaxed after our visit of the wellness resort in Baden the beautiful city of our speakersresponible Sara.

Well what have we done there?

First Day
The first day, who wonders, started with the journey to Baden. Our first real task was to compare our strenghts and weaknesses from a personality test. We can say we are a quite diverse team. We can add some additional Teamroles:

Raffi: VP-Love, the team teddybear, he has the capacitiy to love and to be loved.

Joey: VP-Fun, the team clown, fun and to see the world from a light perspective is his way.

Sara: VP-Maria, the caring person who brings in the nordic flavour and the mexican spice,
who forgets everything when there's a cat around

Sarah: Mrs. President, the (random) professional, she is striving for excellence (and sees the beauty in the world...uhhh!).

Regula: VP-Leadership, the second leader: she excells leadership and kicks Joe's Ass!

Joan: VP-Genuine, the honest conscience, she has huge sense of justice.

Connect 2007 entering active blogsphere

2006-10-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

Many of you dear @-CH members may have known that there is something like a team that is organising a conference...I guess...but what the hell are they doing? Now dear ladies and gentlemen the time of not knowing what's going on is over, is a chapter of the past...the Connect2007 team is entering the blogsphere...yeah! There are "a million ways" to say it but we say "ok go" and move our asses to this great rythm...some of us even during their dreams. So Sarah, Sara (Maria), Regula, Raphael and Joe say hello to you dear @-CH members. Whether you are MC or Newie, you are welcome to inform yourself about the project and its team, about technical stuff and also funny things that happen during our time as a conference Team.

So in this sense HELLO :)

Test

2006-09-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

a very creative first test-post