Conference title:

1st Slovenian Donors’ Forum

Strengthening Trialogue: effects of socially responsible business activities in the NGO sector

Date and location:
October 27th 2011, TR3, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Organizer:
SFA-Slovenian Foundations' Association

Partners:

Center for information, cooperation and development of non-governmental organizations (CNVOS), Association of Slovenian Associations (ZDOS), Institute for development of social responsibility (IRDO), and Network of private associations (SKUP)

In the Slovenian business environment corporate social responsibility approach to business is enforcing, it is a way of management where companies together with stakeholders include social, environmental and sustainable aspects (company's engagement at the local level, providing jobs, health and safety in the workplace, overall respect for human rights and non-discrimination, participation by non-governmental sector, etc.). Corporate social responsibility is becoming a more established part of business strategy, within which donations play an important role.
While for a company donations represent a way of doing business, social integration and connection, for a mainly non-governmental organization it means receiving the aid for the realization of its mission.
Although companies can support the work of NGOs in the form of unrestricted grants, in Slovenia the donor sphere is quite irregular and unsystematic. It is surrounded by many legal and terminological shortcomings: the tax legislation is not stimulant enough there is no compact and robust donor strategies culture of funding the NGOs from commercial sources. The entire Slovenian NGO sector is among the least developed in Europe, the biggest obstacle to the smooth functioning being also his financial instability which affects all other areas from human capacity and technological resources to the organizational skills and ability to perform the mission.

In Slovenia there is an acute need for changes in the regulatory framework of non-governmental sector, modernizing the legislation, reducing administrative barriers and similar, which could contribute to more accelerated development of the entire NGO sector and hence the establishment of such system environment, where conditions for institutional development will be provided.

Therefore in the fall of 2010, the Association of Slovenian foundations formed an initiative for the establishment of Slovenian Donor Forum as an independent network of employers and other networks bringing together economic operators, donors, professional institutions and horizontal networks of NGOs.

DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE CONFERENCE

1.    CONFERENCE OPENING
Moderator: Nataša Sukič, General Secretary of ZSU

9:05 – 9:10    Introductory address    Tomaž Bole, President of the Association of
                       Slovenian foundations - ZSU
9:10 – 9:15    Opening address    Goran Forbici, Director of Centre for Information,
                       Cooperation and Development of NGOs - CNVOS
9:15 – 9:20    Opening address    Janez Matoh, President of the Union of Associations of
                      Slovenia - ZDOS
9:20 – 9:25   Opening address    Primož Šporar, Programmes director, Programmes
                      director of the Network of private institutes - SKUP
9:25 – 9:30   Opening address    Zoran Janković, Mayor of Ljubljana Municipality
                      (honorary sponsor)
9:30 – 9:35    Break   

2.    SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PERSPECTIVE: ECONOMY AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS RESPONSES TO THE KEY SOCIAL ISSUES
Moderator: Mirko Vaupotič, General Secretary ZDOS

What is the business situation in Slovenia and which are the processes we are currently facing on a global level?


9:35 – 09:55    How can social responsibility help companies achieve commercial goals and ensure sustainable development at the same time?
    Hribar Milić, GZS Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (CCIS)

09:55 – 10:10    Social responsibility    dr. Bogomir Kovač, prof. Faculty of Economics
10:10 - 10:35
    Social responsibility in Germany?
German companies donorship and good practice examples?    AHK
10:35 – 10:50    The importance of innovations in the economy and non-governmental organizations for more social responsibility    Dr. Matjaž Mulej, President of Board of experts of IRDO, and Anita Hrast, Executive director of IRDO
10:50 – 11:00    Discussion   
11:00– 11:10    Coffee Break   

3.    DONORSHIP – AN IMPORTANT PART OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Moderator: Mirko Vaupotič, General Secretary ZDOS

Krka, Tobačna Ljubljana and UniCredit bank receive recognition awards for good practice examples.

11:20 – 11:35    Does the fact that a company is a donor helps increase business excellence?     Maja Lapajne, Trimo d.d.

11:35 – 11:50    Corporate communication: Donorship as an effective public relations tool    Darinka Pavlič Kamien, Telekom Slovenije, Corporate communication service
11:50 – 12:05    Good practice: Donations for promoting national and local non-profit activity    Janez Škrabec, Director of Riko d.o.o
12:05 – 12:20    Newspaper Finance project: Cultural patron of the year award
    Aleš Čakš, editor of Finance TRENDI and substantive project leader of the Cultural patron of the year award
12:20 – 12:30    Discussion   


4.    EFECTS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRIALOG ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL WELFARE: round table and discussion

Moderator: Goran Forbici, Executive direktor of CNVOS
12:30 – 14:00    Round table and discussion     DAFNE (Bruselj). Vanda Remškar – Pirc, MJU, Šporar Primož, ECOSOC in SKUP, dr. Bogomir Kovač,BTC, Maja Lapajne, Marketing Director, Trimo d.d
14:00 – 15:00    Lunch   

5.    SURVEYS AND GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES OF DONATING IN SLOVENIA AND EUROPEAN UNION
Moderator: Nataša Sukič, generalna sekretarka ZSU

15:00 – 15:20   
Social responsibility –media as NGO’s advertising campaigns donor    Branko Pavlin, News Publisher Dnevnik Chairman od the Board
15:20 – 15:40    Slovenian Award Horus for Corporate Social Responsibility and Donations Finalists    Anita Hrast, Executive director of IRDO
15:40 – 16:00    Public-private Partnerships,
An example of a prize-winning good practice in SSF     Dr. Edvard Kobal, President of Slovenian Scientific Foundation
16:00 – 16:20    Political foundation asdea promoter    Sebastjan Pikl, Director of Institute Novum
16.20 – 16.40    Local community and the wider circle of donors cooperation: innovative financing for NGOs – the case of LRF Pomurje    Bojan Vogrinčič, President of LRF Pomurje
16:40 – 17:00    How to gain the donors trust? An ITF example as a reference model, recognized by the international donor community    Dorjan Maršič, Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance – ITF Director
17:00 – 17:10    Donorship importance for research covering important social issues    Dr. Srna Mandič, Scientific Adviser and Head of the Center for Social Welfare Study, Institute of Social Sciences (FDV)
17:10– 17:20    Coffee Break   


6.    SLOVENIAN DONORS FORUM – Conclusions of the Conference
Moderator: Tomaž Bole, predsednik UO ZSU
17:20 – 17:45    Conclusions of the Conference and Discussion   
17:45 – 18:00    Break   


ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME OF THE FORUM SFD – round table/panel discussion
Moderator: Nataša Sukič, ZSU
18:00 – 19:30    NON-GOVERNMENTAL VIEW: How to approach the strengthening of trialogue among public, private and non-governmental sector in future? (panel discussion based on the conclusions of the conference)    Ekvilib, Inštitut Novum, IRDO (Hrast), ZSU (Bole), CNVOS (Forbici), ZDOS (Vaupotič in Stojanovič), interested non-governmental organizations