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Monday, February 12, 2007
Regional Workshop: Case Studies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Belgrade, Serbia
On Monday, February 12, 2007 AIESEC Serbia, Responsible Business Initiative Serbia and the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program held a Regional Workshop: Case Studies on Corporate Social Responsibility. 37 students from universities in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad and Sobotica as well as a staff member of Responsible Business Initiative Serbia and two staff members of the USAID SEGA project participated in the Workshop.
The purpose of the Workshop was twofold: (1) to present data on reporting on CSR and corporate governance by listed companies in CEE, including detailed information regarding surveys conducted in Serbia (by Responsible Business Initiative Serbia) and in Croatia (conducted by the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, using the PFS Program methodology and co-financed with PFS Program grants); and (2) to discuss with students case studies involving CSR at real companies from a variety of jurisdictions.
At the outset of the Workshop, Responsible Business Initiative Serbia presented an overview of the surveys it has conducted in Serbia. Thereafter, the PFS Program presented the rationale behind launching its regional surveys: Investor Relations Online and Surveys of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Participants discussed the methodology for the surveys and a wealth of data from the surveys as well as other sources. At the end of Session 1, the PFS Program described the use of the surveys and their impact.
In Session 2, the Croatian surveys conducted by the Zagreb School of Economics and Management were presented. In Sessions 3 and 4 participants analyzed a number of case studies regarding particular issues in corporate governance and/or CSR that the PFS Program uses in its training programs. The case studies discussed concern companies listed and/or operating in Germany, the Netherlands/the United Kingdom, Sweden and the United States.
At the end of the Workshop, students were invited to apply for a one-month unpaid internship with the PFS Program in spring/summer 2007. PFS Program interns conduct the PFS Program regional surveys, working with students from other countries under the supervision of PFS Program staff.
To download the Workshop agenda, complete Workshop materials, individual presentations, speaker biographies and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Monday, July 17, 2006
Publication of Issue Four of the Quarterly Monitor of Economic Trends and Policies in Serbia – Co-financed by a PFS Program Grant
On Monday, July 17, 2006 the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN) published the English-language edition of Issue Four of the Quarterly Monitor of Economic Trends and Policies in Serbia. An abstract of the issue may be found on the following sub-page of FREN’s website: http://www.fren.org.yu/en/qm4.htm Visitors may download the complete publication or separate chapters of the document from the above-mentioned page. To download the entire publication, please click on the following link: http://www.fren.org.yu/docs/qm4/QM4_complete_en.pdf
Issue Four of the Quarterly Monitor was co-financed by the following institutions: Fund for an Open Society – Serbia; PFS Program and the Royal Government of the Netherland.
Monday, June 5, 2006 - Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Environment for Europe – Second Regional Conference
Belgrade, Serbia
From Monday, June 5 through Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Environment for Europe - Second Regional Conference took place in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro. The conference was organized by the following institutions: Environmental Ambassadors; Serbian Chamber of Commerce; Secretariat for Environmental Protection – City of Belgrade; Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad; Institute for Standardization of Serbia and Montenegro; and Regional Chamber of Commerce – Novi Sad. The conference was supported by a number of Serbian institutions – government agencies, private companies and professional associations – as well as the United Nations Environment Program.
Environmental specialists from a wide range of disciplines presented papers at the conference covering diverse topics. Most of the presentations related primarily to Serbia and Montenegro; however many also covered the wider region of South East Europe. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program, presented data from the PFS Program regional surveys (Investor Relations Online and Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe – 2001-2006) and from a March 2006 survey of reporting on the same topics by the companies with the largest volume of continuous trading on the Belgrade Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit the conference website - http://www.ambassadors-env.org/eng/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=30
Thursday, May 25, 2006 - Friday, May 26, 2006
Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering
Belgrade, Serbia
On May 25-26, 2006 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Financial Intelligence Unit, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Serbia, conducted a Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering. This was the eighth in a series of case-study based regional workshops organized by the PFS Program and partner organizations that bring together law enforcement experts from across new and old member states of the European Union (EU), other countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), South East Europe (SEE) and the US.
The participant breakdown was as follows: Montenegro – two judges and two representatives of the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering; and Serbia – 11 representatives of the Financial Intelligence Unit; two representatives of district courts; four representatives of district prosecutor’s offices; two representatives of the special prosecutor’s office for organized crime; and one representative of the tax police. In addition, staff of USAID and the US Department of Treasury participated in the Regional Workshop.
Speakers included the following: Estonia – one analyst of the Financial Intelligence Unit and one judge; Poland – one judge and one prosecutor; United Kingdom – one barrister; and the United States – the assistant attorney general of the state of Illinois.
On the first day of the Regional Workshop, each of the above-mentioned experts from Estonia, Poland, the UK and the US presented a real case study of a money laundering investigation/prosecution from his/her respective jurisdiction. Following each presentation, participants engaged the speaker in an interactive discussion about the case. On the second day, participants presented and debated case studies presented by participants from Montenegro, Poland and Serbia.
The Regional Workshop succeeded in achieving its aims and the overall goal of this ongoing PFS Program regional initiative, namely:
1. To provide a venue for representatives of various institutions from several countries to discuss real case studies from several jurisdictions;
2. To brainstorm and share experiences in order to develop the most effective strategies to be applied in the respective jurisdiction;
3. To promote in each jurisdiction the implementation of best practice and international standards in combating money laundering; and
4. To establish and strengthen inter-agency relationships on a national level as well as regionally and globally.
To download the agenda, presentations, speaker CVs and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Friday, March 31, 2006
PFS Program Grant to CEVES
Belgrade, Serbia
The PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to the Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES), Belgrade, Serbia to co-finance the publication of the fourth issue of the Quarterly Monitor of Economic Trends and Policies in Serbia.
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