Mr. Leardo Ravaioli, CEO of lighting company Ghisamestieri the green way of light s.r.l. headquartered in Bertinoro, Italy, will be honored at the biannual global Business & Peace Symposium for his work advancing peace through interfaith action.
On March 7-8, 2018, the days before the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, international business, government and civil society leaders will gather in Seoul Korea for the second biannual Global Business & Interfaith Peace Symposium and Awards. The symposium will show to a global audience – in the spirit of the Paralympics – that peace is achievable.
Mr. Ravaioli was selected from nominees representing 25 countries on all six inhabitable continents to be part of a small group of CEOs to be honored for his work. The awards are given once every two years in the host city of the Olympics/Paralympics.
Mr. Ravaioli is being honored for his work with Italian Rotary Clubs and faith leaders to bring sustainable sources of water, food, education, and light (through solar power) to people of all faiths in Sierra Leone after its civil war. His interfaith commitment continues as his company helped sponsor Italy’s first annual interfaith festival in 2017.
Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, observed, “Mr. Ravaioli was an especially strong candidate for this year’s competition because his work takes place not only at home in Italy, but abroad in Sierra Leone.” Grim also noted, “Mr. Ravaioli’s work is a perfect example of the work of peace Pope Francis called for at the start of 2018.”
“Many people worry about the current crisis on the Korean peninsula,” said Dr. Sunggon Kim, the 2018 Awards Executive Director and one of the jurors. “Thus, the Global Business & Peace Awards right before 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics in Korea is a very timely and meaningful event for peace in this area. It will show the world how business people are important in building peace,” said Dr. Kim.
The inaugural Symposium and Awards were held at the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The Symposium and Awards are an initiative of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation in collaboration with the Global Compact Network Korea, the Business for peace platform of the United Nations Global Compact, and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. The initiative was started in tandem with the Business for Peace initiative of former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who now serves as honorary chairman of the Global Compact Network Korea.
For more information and media inquiries, contact: Brian Grim, President, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, email. Tel: 1-410-268-7809 Website
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