Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

Caring for people through educationPatricia Gallardo, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability,Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd.Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts envisions a community ofresponsible and educated citizens who are environmentallyconscious, practise social responsibility in their daily livesand inspire others to do the same.In 2005 the company launched its first corporate social responsibility(CSR) initiatives, which were streamlined and refined in 2009with the hiring of a dedicated corporate level CSR specialist. Threekey programme areas were also formalized in 2009: Sustainability,Embrace and Sanctuary.Sustainability, Shangri-La’s Social Responsibility programme,systematically addresses issues that concern the environment,supply chain, employees’ health and safety and stakeholder relations.In this way, CSR becomes a good way of doing business, aswell as a tool towards genuine development.Beyond investing in its own people, Shangri-La believes that socialdevelopment is best instigated with young people from the localarea. Because the group operates in areas with disparate social andeconomic inequalities, Shangri-La needs to work with local educationand health organizations if it wants to effect real impact andmeaningful change over a longer time period.Rasa Sentosa Resort Chef coaches a teenaged boy in the basics of cookingImage: Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort, SingaporeEmbrace, Shangri-La’s Care for People Project, waslaunched in September 2009, requesting that each hotelmakes a 10-15 year commitment to a chosen organization– be it a school, health centre or orphanage – thatbenefits the local community. This is chosen basedon criteria including beneficiary status/need, a matchwith hotel resources and skills, and accessibility to ahotel to encourage consistent employee volunteering.A template on education and health project developmentis made available, and hotel management andstaff work with the named beneficiary to define yearlygoals and targets. At the end of the commitment period,it is envisioned that the children have finished highereducation, are able to look after their own health andare ready for employment based on their own merits.Hotels are encouraged to look at running hotel skillstraining programmes to entice these graduates to workin the industry and secure a sustainable career for themselves.The Embrace programme therefore represents aninteresting contribution from the private sector to ESD.As of July 2010, 91 per cent of the hotels havestarted to work on various education projects such asschool refurbishments, scholarships, hotel training andapprenticeships and support for children with specialneeds. Health projects include raising funds for surgeryand rehabilitation of children with various ailments. Inthe last decade, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur andTraders Hotel Kuala Lumpur have raised over twomillion Malaysian Ringgit (USD585,820), helping atotal of 118 children undergo urgent heart surgery.With their rare cases of cardiopathy and other heartconditions, these children had to undergo immediateoperations in order to survive. Both hotels have beenworking on supporting the recovery and return tonormal living arrangements of these children, resultingin over 60 per cent of them now attending school.Dignity and sense of purposeBeyond books and classrooms, education is a powerful toolin restoring a sense of worth, especially to individuals whomay not have the capacity for self-awareness. Since 2008,Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa in Kota Kinabaluhas partnered with Seri Mengasih, a school for more than100 intellectually and physically challenged children. 2010marks the third year of full school fees support, increasingstudent performance and eventually enticing morestudents who can be apprentices at the hotel.[ 120 ]