Dozens of CEOs from companies as diverse as the Hyundai Group to as unique as the Empower a Billion Women Foundation sign the Corporate Pledge on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards.

The pledge-signing ceremony occurred as a part of a global business for peace event held in conjunction with the “Peace Olympics” in Korea.

The Corporate Pledge in Support of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) — which supports religious diversity and freedom in the workplace — sends two clear messages to current and prospective employees: (1) You can work here without changing who you are; and (2) the company respects all employees and will not favor certain employees over others … and that’s good for the business of all.

The FoRB Pledge is one component of a company’s overall strategy to value its employees and increase their loyalty for the benefit of customers and shareholders. The FoRB Pledge is a company’s public commitment to take reasonable steps to ensure that working at the company does not put employees at odds with their deeply held religious convictions.

Meeting in the wake of the potential for fresh talks on the Korean Peninsular, the high level Conference pledged to “use its influence in support of every effort at dialogue aimed at discerning new ways of overcoming the current disputes.”

The delegates rallied in support following a keynote address from former UN Secretary General, HE Ban Ki Moon, in which he also welcomed the new developments while emphasising a need for caution. The symposium which included key speeches from the former Japanese Prime Minister HE Yukio Hatoyama and HE Philip McDonagh former Irish Ambassador to the Holy See who was involved in the Northern Island peace talks, unanimously supported a commitment to “…advocate for a common peace in East Asia based, first, on agreed principles; and second, on measured, parallel progress on security and arms control, societal and justice issues, and economic development.”

Training to Put the Pledge to Practice

Wonkwang Digital University has signed a MOU with the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) in the Grand Hilton Seoul on March 9. The two organizations will cooperate through the agreement to develop on-line and off-line parallel education programs for global talents and to open courses. “The development of excellent educational contents will be a chance to be recognized in the global education market by the high level of competence of domestic cyber universities. I hope to contribute to harmony and development. ” The agreement was attended by Wang Kwang Digital University President Namgkmen, Choi Yoon Hee Admissions Coordinator, Shin Yi Chul, Dean of the Department of Speech and Language Therapy, and Kim Jae Hyun, Head of the Admission Promotion Team, RFBF Brian Grim and RFBF Northeast Asia Director David Yoo.

Executive Ed

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and the Religious Freedom Center jointly offer education programs for businesses and business schools across the globe. For businesses, we deliver one and two-day courses focused on middle management and executives. For business schools, we provide online modules that can be integrated into existing courses on marketing, management, liability limitation, and diversity & inclusion.

Participants become religiously literate, that is, they become conversant about how religion impacts the workplace and the marketplace, their coworkers and partners as well as customers and clients. Participants gain an understanding of the empirical evidence on the value that religious liberty, religious diversity, and religious inclusion and their roles in business strategy, corporate policy and economic growth.

This training provides frameworks that will help participants lead effectively in a world of growing religious diversity. The curriculum is grounded in the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s Corporate Pledge in Support of the Freedom of Religion or Belief. As companies employ this framework, they send two clear messages to current and prospective employees: (1) you can work here without changing who you are; and (2) the company respects all employees and will not favor certain employees over others, and that’s good for the business of all.

Participants will also learn strategies that help businesses navigate religious freedom as it pertains to other freedoms in the workplace and society.

Download Brochure: Seminars – Workplace Religious Diversity and Inclusion

Contact

For more information, please contact Paul Lambert (Paul@religiousfreedomandbusiness.org) or Kristen Looney (klooney@newseum.org).

March 7^th/8^th/9^th 2018 Seoul, South Korea

The Global Business and Peace Symposium today welcomed the “Olympic Truce” between Seoul and Pyongyang and the opportunity for contact across the DMZ.

Meeting in the wake of the potential for fresh talks on the Korean Peninsular, the high level Conference pledged to “use its influence in support of every effort at dialogue aimed at discerning new ways of overcoming the current disputes.”

The delegates rallied in support following a keynote address from former UN Secretary General, HE Ban Ki Moon, in which he also welcomed the new developments while emphasising a need for caution. The symposium which included key speeches from the former Japanese Prime Minister HE Yukio Hatoyama and HE Philip McDonagh former Irish Ambassador to the Holy See who was involved in the Northern Island peace talks, unanimously supported a commitment to “…advocate for a common peace in East Asia based, first, on agreed principles; and second, on measured, parallel progress on security and arms control, societal and justice issues, and economic development.”

Previously delegates from the conference had been welcomed by senior politicians at the Korean National Assembly, where RFBF President Brian Grim was awarded the Main Prize at the World Peace Prize Ceremony.

The Global Business and Peace Awards were presented at a ceremony held later at the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul with prize winners including Mark Woerde, Founder Havas Lemz and LetsHeal.org, who’s online video project “Make Friends” featuring the world’s most prominent religious leaders including Pope Francis, has been viewed 1.2 million times on YouTube. Another gold medalist was film-maker Deborah Paul whose moving story of her encounter in London with a Palestinian refugee, Christy Anastas won the Religious Freedom and Business Film prize. A special Corporate Education Award was given to global giants EY (Ernst and Young) for their work in creating an online training programme “Religious Literacy for Organisations”.

For full list of medal winners, see here.

The Symposium which is made up of business, political and academic leaders from around the world went on to discuss various aspects of Global Business and Peace with a focus on the role of religious belief in the work place and the role faith can play in the corporate world.

This is the second Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards. The inaugural awards were given the day before the opening of the Rio Paralympics in 2016. This pioneering peace initiative was started by RFBF and is a collaboration with the Global Compact Network Korea, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

The Awards began after H.E. Ban Ki-moon established the Business for Peace platform in 2013 within the UNGC, the world’s largest corporate member organization committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, which notably include SGD 16 (Peace) “Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

BREAKING NEWS: Seoul, Korea — At As North Korean’s Kim Jung-un and South Korea’s Pres. Moon agree to meet, we are holding the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards in Seoul.

On Wednesday we will hold high level meetings at the Korean National Assembly (Parliament), the Presidential Blue House, and with the Mayor of Seoul.

Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will keynote the March 7-8 Global Business & Peace Symposium. H.E. Ban Ki-moon established the Business for Peace platform in 2013 within the UNGC, the world’s largest corporate member organization committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, which notably include SGD 16 (Peace).

Soon after the establishment of Business for Peace, the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation launched the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards, which are given out in the host country of each Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The inaugural awards were given the day before the opening of the Rio Paralympics, and this year’s awards will be given in Seoul the day before the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics.

The awards will be given along with other awards at the 2018 Global Business and Peace Symposium. Special honors will be given to business leaders who have worked to advance peace with North Korea, including some involved with the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), located inside North Korea just across the demilitarized zone from South Korea. The project was launched in 2004, largely financed by the South to increase co-operation. The Complex was abruptly closed on February 10, 2016 by former Korean President Park Geun-hye’s administration. The incumbent President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, has indicated a desire to “reopen and expand” the region. Of course, that now depends on progress with the security situation.

Pictured at left is H.E. Ban Ki-moon reviewing the details of the Global Business & Peace Symposium and Awards.

Previously, H.E. Ban Ki-moon participated in the first UNAOC’s business and peace symposium at the 2014 UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) meeting in Bali, Indonesia. At that meeting, a joint publication was launched between the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, Indonesian Global Compact Network (IGCN), and the UNGC’s Business for Peace Platform. Mr. Ban is pictured below with the research report, “Business: A Powerful Force Supporting Interfaith Understanding & Peace.”

Indeed, as the report showed, interfaith understanding – and its contribution to peace – is in the interest of business. The report highlights several key areas where this is clear:

• Recent research shows that economic growth and global competitiveness are stronger when social hostilities involving religion are low and Government respect for, and protection of, the universally recognized human right of freedom is high.
• Interfaith understanding also strengthens business by reducing corruption and encouraging broader freedoms while also increasing trust and fostering respect. Research shows that laws and practices stifling religion are related to higher levels of corruption. Similarly, religious freedom highly correlates with the presence of other freedoms and a range of social and economic goods, such as better health care and higher incomes for women.
• Positively engaging around the issue of interfaith understanding also helps business to advance trust and respect with consumers, employees and possible partner organizations, which can give companies a competitive advantage as sustainability and ethics come to the forefront of corporate engagement with society.
• With the shared vision of a more sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to people, communities and markets, it is clear that companies can make significant contributions to advancing interfaith understanding and peace through both core business and outreach activities. The examples in this publication offer an important step forward in providing companies with guidance on why and how they can make practical contributions in this area – in ways benefitting both their business and the societies where they operate.

IGCN president, Y.W. Junardy, took home the gold medal at the 2016 Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards.

Come meet these top female leaders — three business execs and three filmmakers — at the 2018 Global Business & Peace Awards and Symposium in Seoul, Korea, on March 7-8, 2018.

Business Execs

H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, President of Zayed University and former CEO of Tejari, is a powerful force behind the UAE Pledge of Religious Tolerance adopted by government, civil society and business leaders. She not only works hand-in-hand with local Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sikhs groups, but also with global political leaders and religious figures such as Pope Francis, helping the UAE become a world leader in interfaith action.

Former Dell Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ingrid Vanderveldt, has the audacious goal of by 2020 empowering a billion women from all faiths to work together to achieve more, give more and accomplish more. She believes that the relationship between women in business and this mission is sustainable and helps women leaders worldwide to pursue unity, love and peace.

Inspired by her own faith and working among the blind in Tibet, Shiyin CAI founded of Dialogue in the Dark in China. Through activities such as supporting the first blind runner to complete the Boston Marathon, she is changing society’s prejudices against blind/deaf and all other marginalized groups, and providing job opportunities with dignity to the marginalized.

Filmmakers

Film: Love Has No Borders

by Deborah Paul and Christy Anastas

Deborah Paul and Christy Anastas‘s film,  Love Has No Borders won the Religious Freedom & Business Film Competition Gold Medal, The short film shows two women from different backgrounds joining together to build a business to serve those in need.

Film: Global FC

by Mariya Dostzadah Goodbrake

Global FC by Mariya Dostzadah Goodbrake won the Religious Freedom & Business Film Competition Silver Medal. The film shows that Global FC strengthens Kansas City by using their business to serve the religiously mixed refugee community with a soccer program.

Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards

by Julianna Ulrich, Natalie Comstock and the team at Contexture International

The team at Contexture International produced the promotional video and the introductory videos for each of the medalists (including Sheikha Lubna, Ingrid Vanderveldt and Shiyin Cai above) coming to the 2018 Global Business & Peace Awards and Symposium in Seoul, South Korea.

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) and The Middle East Women’s Leadership Network (MEWLN) launched the Religious Freedom & Business Film Competition in 2017 to highlight women media producers and support freedom of belief. The goal of the competition was to create short films that showcase how religious freedom leads to innovation, peace, entrepreneurship and human flourishing in communities. The winning films will screen before world-class CEOs and UN level leaders at the 2018 Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards in Seoul, South Korea, March 7-8, 2018.

The grand prize winner of the competition will receive $5,000 and a trip to present her work at the Peace Awards ceremony. Additionally, the wining films will be shared with religious freedom networks, NGOs, government and faith based organizations around the world.

The three-minute films are artful and compelling explorations of the impact of religious freedom (or the lack of it) in the workplace and community. Whether inspired by real-life events or fictional, the films thoughtfully affirm that cultural diversity and religious freedom are good for business and civil society.

The finalist films include:

Love Has No Borders (by Christy Anastas and Deborah Paul)

Global FC  (by Mariya Dostzadah Goodbrake)

Equations (by Nancy Sawyer Schraeder and Naji Hendrix)

Clarkston (by Erin Berhardt)

Paper Dresses (by Lizzie Chaplin)

* * *

For more information about the short films and female media producers, contact the MEWLN Director, Shirin Taber at shirin@visualstory.org.

By Dan Eckstein

Dan Eckstein is a Director in Accenture’s Communications, Media and Technology practice. He is passionate about Inclusion and Diversity and is on a mission to make Accenture the most truly human organization in the digital age while ensuring that every employee can have a feeling of belonging. He is also the leader of Accenture’s Employee Experience Council for I&D and the Interfaith and Jewish employee resource groups in NY Metro.

What does it mean to bring your whole self to work—body, mind, heart and soul?

At Accenture, it means being free to express your passions, aspirations and strengths—all the unique qualities that make you…well, you. It’s a place where you can feel comfortable talking openly about topics that are sometimes considered taboo. Faith is often one of them.

As an observant Jew, I’ve always been passionate about inclusion and diversity, especially the topic of one’s faith at work. After graduating college, it was a challenge to figure out how I wanted to balance my religion and my work. I found myself trying to compartmentalize my work life from my religious life. But it didn’t feel right. I wanted to be transparent about who I am, and be consistent both inside and outside the office. My religion is something I’m proud of.

I learned about the Interfaith Employee Resource Group (ERG) shortly after joining the company. Empowering employees to be their true, authentic self, the ERG is open to individuals of all faiths and those who do not identify with any faith.

Partnering with the leaders of our seven Faith ERGs in the NY Metro area (Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Other), we work together as volunteers to host events that focus on a wide variety of topics—from Interfaith Marriage to LGBTQ and Faith, to discussions led by local faith leaders. We host events to explore our respective religions—through Sabbath meals, Ramadan Iftaar meals, Diwali celebrations and prayer breakfasts. We plan social outings and participate in corporate citizenship activities together. I’m proud that we’re able to be open about religion in the workplace and use it as a tool to connect more deeply with each other.

I’m proud of what we are accomplishing at Accenture as we enable all employees to be Truly Human and talk about Faith at Work. As Ellyn Shook, our Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer said, “When we bring our whole selves to work it becomes the moment when we can be our best both professionally and personally.”

I encourage you to check out these 3 links when you have time:

• Read this blog post written by one of our Interfaith leaders.

• Watch the short video from our Inclusion and Diversity choir. We hosted the Gift of Life and had over 35 employees volunteer to be tested as a bone marrow donor. We had an amazing time at the Interfaith Holiday breakfast celebration with the first performance of the Inclusion and Diversity choir.

• Watch this video to learn about our Interfaith ERG and hear from our members on how we support them in bringing their Faith to work

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and the Religious Freedom Center jointly offer education programs for businesses across the globe.

These half, one and two-day seminars help middle management and executives become religiously literate. That is, they become conversant about how religion impacts the workplace and the marketplace, their coworkers and partners as well as customers and clients.

Participants gain an understanding of the empirical evidence on the value that religious liberty, religious diversity, and religious inclusion and their impact on business strategy, corporate policy and economic growth.

Can faith be good for business? Wendy Austin, Brian Grim and guests discuss business and religion on the BBC’s Inside Business.

March 7^th/8^th 2018 Seoul, South Korea

H.E. Ban Ki-moon, the former UN Secretary General, will address the latest developments in the North-South Korean negotiations at the Business and Peace symposium in Seoul, the day before the Winter Paralympics begin.

The Symposium includes business, political and academic leaders from around the world and will discuss themes including religious nondiscrimination and inclusion in the workplace. With his high-profile commitment to business and peace, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, as well as providing his expert insight in to the tense situation on the Korean peninsular, will also speak about how business is a powerful force supporting interfaith understanding and peace.

Top South Korean government leaders will welcome a delegation from the symposium at the National Assembly. “Korean support for this event is tremendous,” said Brian Grim, international organizer and President of the Religious freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF). “This shows the initiative’s timely contribution to peace, held at this time of heightened tensions and in tandem with the Olympics.”

A main focus of the event will be the presentation of the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards, given to CEOs worldwide for their promotion of peace through interfaith knowledge and action. Awardees include:

• – Ernst and Young’s UK Chairman Steve Varley who has overseen a first-of-its-kind online program, Religious Literacy for Organizations, helping earn EY the #1 slot on DiversityInc’s 2017 diversity and inclusiveness list.
• – Mark Woerde, Founder Havas Lemz and LetsHeal.org, who believes he can make the world a better place through interfaith advertising featuring the world’s most prominent religious leaders including Pope Francis.
• – Former Dell Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ingrid Vanderveldt, who has the ambitious goal of, by 2020, empowering a billion women from all faiths to work together to achieve more, give more and accomplish more.
• – The Global Business & Peace Awards, will also give awards to business leaders from South Korea who have worked to build positive ties with North Korea, selected by high level government officials.

This is the second Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards. The inaugural awards were given the day before the opening of the Rio Paralympics in 2016. This pioneering peace initiative was started by RFBF and is a collaboration with the Global Compact Network Korea, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

The Awards began after H.E. Ban Ki-moon established the Business for Peace platform in 2013 within the UNGC, the world’s largest corporate member organization committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, which notably include SGD 16 (Peace) “Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

• Press contact: Michael Wakelin +44 7740 051517 michael@michaelwakelin.co.uk
• Symposium contact: David Yoo +82-10-9492-2453 davidyoo@dreamasia.org
• https://religiousfreedomandbusiness.org/awards2018