March 24, 2009 

MEDIA CONTACTS: Ellen Yui
(301) 270-8571; ellenyui@yuico.com
Michelle Sherrard
(202) 994-1423; mcs1@gwu.edu

BUSINESS AND PEACE PROMOTED THROUGH ONLINE GLOBAL CONFERENCE BY GW'S INSTITUTE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND WORLD BANK INSTITUTE
MARCH 23 - MAY 22, 2009

Nine-week, Worldwide E-discussion Will Feature International Experts and Video Presentations on How to Promote Peace through Business-led Initiatives

EVENT: 

Corporate executives, entrepreneurs, peace activists, thought-leaders, students, and others from across the globe will connect through a weekly e-conference to explore contributions that responsible businesses and economic developers can make toward building peace. This open forum, co-hosted by The George Washington University School of Business' Institute for Corporate Responsibility and the World Bank Institute, will explore a new topic each week, from doing business in a conflict zone to current business practices and new research.
 
WHEN:  

Monday, March 23 - Friday, May 22, 2009
 
REGISTRATION: 

Register online at http://businessfightspoverty.ning.com.

BACKGROUND:  

GW's Institute for Corporate Responsibility and the World Bank Institute have partnered to convene a worldwide discussion online regarding how ethical business practices can foster peace. Participants from across the globe will directly dialogue with international experts, discussing practical action to advance understanding, investment and systemic change toward peace through commerce.

Based on resources and video presentations captured at the initial "Peace Through Commerce" Conference held at GW November 13 - 15, 2008 , this online conference will feature a different topic each week:

- March 23 - 27: The Role of Business in Advancing Peace Through Commerce

- March 30 - April 3: On the Ground -- Current Practices of Involving Business

- April 6 - 10: What It Will Take to Manifest Peace Through Commerce

- April 13 - 17: New Research on Development, Freedom and Peace

- April 20 - 24: New Research on Corporate Risk in Conflict Zones

- April 27 - May 1: Key Issues in Doing Business in Conflict Zones

- May 4 - 8: Partnership Approaches to Involving Business

- May 11 - 15: A Perspective from the Tourism Industry

- May 18 - 22: Where We Go From Here


The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. The World Bank Institute is one of the bank's main instruments for developing individual, organizational, and institutional capacity through the exchange of knowledge among those countries. The institute designs and delivers learning programs that create opportunities for development stakeholders to acquire, share, and apply global and local knowledge and experiences. World Bank Institute recognizes that the private sector is a key partner in development.  The institute builds capacity for business to integrate social and environmental responsibility and good governance as vital components of corporate strategy, and to strengthen economic opportunities for the poor.

Peace Through Commerce is an integrated outreach, education, and engagement program that illuminates the contribution that commerce, trade, and economic development make toward building sustainable peace. FLOW and the Peace Through Commerce Alliance Partners are committed to celebrating and advancing the role of enterprise in promoting peace and well being.

The GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility was established in 2006 with a mission of fostering research, education, and outreach on the topic of corporate responsibility. The institute houses four overlapping program areas: business, integrity, and peace; environmental sustainability; corporate governance; and global stakeholder strategies. The Institute for Corporate Responsibility is designed to allow for in-depth, focused research in each of these program areas as well as to address what the leadership of the institute believes to be the central issue confronting corporations today. That issue is the integration of various strands of corporate responsibility in order for corporations to be effective institutions accountable for the impact of their actions on shareholders, employees, customers, and other interested parties. Timothy L. Fort, the Lindner-Gambal Professor of business ethics, serves as the insitute's executive director.

GW's School of Business prepares students for professional management careers. The depth and variety of its academic and professional programs, including five specialized master's programs, provide rich opportunities for students in the school's core Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration, and doctoral programs. GW's undergraduate- and graduate-level international business programs rank among the world's best.

For more information about GW's School of Business, visit www.business.gwu.edu.

For more news about GW, visit the GW News Center at www.gwnewscenter.org.

- GW -