A spiritual conference on ethics in business
Posted On Friday, November 06, 2009 at 01:03:19 PM

Prominent leaders of business, politics, civil society and religious heads will gather in the European Parliament in Brussels, on November 5 and 6, for the 6th Conference on Ethics in Business Posted On Friday, November 06, 2009 at 01:03:19 PM Bangalore: Prominent leaders of business, politics, civil society and religious heads will gather in the European Parliament in Brussels, on November 5 and 6, for the 6th Conference on Ethics in Business – Corporate Culture & Spirituality.

An initiative of educational and humanitarian NGO, International Association for Human Values (IAHV), founded by spiritual leader Ravi Shankar, the conference will see global leaders joining hands to create a vision for a sustainable future and identify solutions to the pressing challenges of our time: corruption, economic meltdown, global warming, poverty, and the integration of developing countries into global decision-making processes.

The IAHV founder and spiritual leader emphasized, “Human values and ethics need to be the core of any development. We have seen the flaws in communism; now we are seeing the failings of unbridled capitalism. It is time for a new ‘ism’ – humanism.” The conference will also seek to identify how to inculcate in the education process a foundation of ethics and morality using the concept of human dignity and values.

Key speakers will include some renowned names from diverse backgrounds, like Günter Verheugen, vice-president of the European Commission; Jan Muehlfeit, chairman Europe of Microsoft Corporation; Walter Schwimmer, former secretary general, Council of Europe; Fr. Piotr Mazurkiewicz, secretary general, Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community; Grand Rabbi Marc Raphaël Guedj, director of Fondation Racines et Sources; Gerhard Prätorius, head of coordination CSR and sustainability, Volkswagen AG; Ruud Lubbers, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Sanjay Pradhan, vice-president, World Bank Institute, among others.

The conference will be chaired by Nirj Deva, member of European Parliament who said, We must rediscover the virtue of responsibility. If we cannot rise to this challenge of acting responsibly, a virtue so intimately linked with our human dignity, then our civilization is doomed, and with it our ability to provide for those most vulnerable among us.” (TNN)