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The John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business

The John D. Gerhart center at the School of Business, The American University in Cairo aims to strengthen the culture of social responsibility through philanthropy, as well as effective civic and business engagement with society in the Arab region. The mission of the center is to serve as a regional incubator for knowledge, responsible business practices, civic leadership and capacity building to promote effective social responsibility. The center is advocating linking philanthropy, civic engagement and responsible business practices through community initiatives, research and directly engaging the private sector. The center conducts field research and has published case studies and field research on philanthropy, civic engagement and responsible business practices in the Arab region with the purpose of understanding trends and practices in the region. The Center hosted conferences such as the Base-of-the-Pyramid conference in October 2019 and AROCSA in July 2018 and Takaful in October 2017, to bring international practitioners and thought leaders to the AUC and to the region. In April 2020 we started our webinars series bringing thought leaders on topics that should become critical for sustainable development in the aftermath of COVID 19. The center conducts several youth change agents programs to provide youth with the knowledge, skills and on-ground experience to actively and positively participate in the development of their communities. These programs include blended learning programs, internships, community based initiatives programs, alumni and volunteer engagement platforms, winter and summer camps, developing civic curriculums and having a platform of trainers. The Center conducts workshops to support civic society, CSR and sustainability efforts. Examples include CSR training to CSR offices with the Federation of Egyptian Industries. The Center also prepared training materials on sustainable development for the Egyptian Banking Institute to be delivered to government officials and conducted train-the-trainer for the institute. We conduct field research, capacity building and consultation on national and regional social and sustainability-related issues including best practices, current challenges and innovative business models utilized. Furthermore we are also heavily engaged with many community-led and civic society organizations that engage with us through our youth leadership and change agents programs. We also have access to a large network of change agents working on the ground on social and sustainable development initiatives. Situated in the School of Business at a leading liberal arts university in the Middle East and Africa provides us with access to tremendous resources around sustainable development and civic engagement. We developed strong partnerships to support our three thematic areas, Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business, and our scope of activities: Research, youth leadership programs and capacity building. Members of the center serve on the steering committee of The Talloires Network, an international association of institutions based at Tufts University which aims to foster higher education civic engagement. Furthermore, the center hosts Ma’an Arab University Alliance, the Arab regional institution of the Talliores Network with 40 member universities. We serve on the board of the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF), The Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA), and the Center for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at Wits University. We also present Africa and the Middle East on the Civil Society Advisory Board of UNEP FI Responsible Banking Principles. We continue to be active members of BoP, and we hosted the First MENA Global BoP Summit in October 2019 which focused on community-based grassroots frugal innovations. We are active participants in the Global Network of Business Schools for Human Rights (anchored by NYU Stern School of Business and U of Geneva). We have MOU with Life Maker Foundation and have many joint activities with them. We were just accepted for membership in UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Headquarter Country

Egypt

Geographies served

Egypt Jordan Lebanon Saudi Arabia

Issue areas addressed

Diversity & Inclusion Education

SDGs focus

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequality SDG 16 - Peace and Justice Strong Institutions SDG 17 - Partnerships to achieve the Goal SDG 2 - Zero Hunger SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being SDG 4 - Quality Education SDG 5 - Gender Equality SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

Collaborators

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