16.10.2007

(CSRwire) Brussels, Belgium - The "Corporate Culture and Spirituality: Business and Ethics - Complementary or Contradictory?" conference will be held on November 10th, 2006 at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. The conference is part of the International Business and Leadership Symposium taking place from November 8th to 12th, 2006 and is jointly organized by the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) and the Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC). This conference primarily addresses the role of an ethics based approach to sustainable corporate success and leadership performance. The perceptions exists, that a focus on corporate social responsibility does not yield sustainable profits or contribute to the bottom line. However, many corporations have proven that the long term health and success of an organization are directly related to its values and ethics.

Featuring prominent speakers such as Ruud Lubbers, Myron Scholes, Jacques Santer, Vinod Mittal, Peter Maffay, Ervin Laszlo, Princess Inaara, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and several others, the conference brings together leaders from academia, industry, NGOs and spirituality. Leading minds will share their experiences and expertise on the value of an ethics based approach in dealing with today's challenges in the global market and examine whether the advantages of fulfilling social responsibilities will offset the costs.

November 11 and 12 features another prominent part of the symposium: a unique workshop titled "A New Dimension to Business: Success without Stress". Conducted by renowned international spiritual and humanitarian leader, and founder of IAHV, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the workshop includes practical group exercises and Sri Sri's acclaimed breathing-based stress relief techniques. Sri Sri's corporate stress-elimination program, better known as the APEX, is already the program of choice among various high profile organizations such as the World Bank, NASA, ADAC (Holland), Citibank Group, American Express and several others.

At this time the following speakers, among others, have confirmed their participation:

• Mr. Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India
• Prof. Ruud Lubbers, Former Prime Minister, Netherlands
• Dr. Saad Al-Barrak, CEO and Deputy Chairman, MTC Group, Kuwait
• Mr. Peter Maffay, Musician, World Wide Charitable Projects, Germany
• Princess Gabriel Inaara, Begum Aga Khan, Princess Inaara Foundation.
• Mr. T. R. Doongaji, Managing Director, Tata Group
• Dr. Myron Scholes, 1997 Noble Prize Laureate in Economics, Chairman, Platinum Grove Asset Management, USA
• Mr. Jacques Santer, Former President, EU Commission, Former Prime Minister, Luxembourg
• Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, European Region, Member of the Group of Spiritual Leaders - World Economic Forum Davos, Netherlands
• Ms. Erika Mann, Member European Parliament, Committee of International Trade
• Mr.Vinod Mittal, Managing Director, ISPAT Group, India
• Mr. Sanjay Pradhan, Senior Director, World Bank, USA
• Prof. Ervin Laszlo, President, Budapest Club, Germany
• H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, International Association for Human Values

"Trust is the breath of business, ethics its limbs, to uplift the spirit, its goal."
H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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