European conference 'Responsible Business and Disability: Loss or Profit?'

'All the enterprises should be able to boast the activities they undertake for the benefit of persons with disabilities as part of corporate social responsibility'.

Prof. Irena Lipowicz
Polish Ombudsman

• Why do entrepreneurs treat disability as an area of purely charitable activities?

• Why are some Polish enterprises reluctant to be associated with disability seen as a shameful label while many international companies focus on disability as an opportunity to boost the image of their brand?

• Should employees with disabilities be just pitied by the entrepreneur or can they become viable business partners and generate a profit for the company?

• Can persons with disabilities be well educated and competent or are they always undereducated and not prepared for the role of an employee?

• Do we, as society, prefer to invest in five million persons with disabilities and include them in social life or to pay for their social benefits and leave them on the margin of society?

These are just some of the questions that were asked on 20 October at the Jagiellonian University of Krakow (Poland) in Collegium Maius building during the European conference entitled Responsible Business and Disability: Loss or Profit?.

The event’s target groups were the business community and university students.

The conference featured not just such difficult questions but also the presentation of an agreement concluded between the Jagiellonian University, the Pierre and Marie Curie University of Paris and the international corporation Thales, the aim of which is to develop innovative vocational training for students with and without disabilities.

In Poland, the theme of corporate social responsibility in the context of disability is not popular although in other European countries it is discussed in heated debates. Polish organisations dealing with responsible business themes do not make any link between CSR and disability whatsoever and so disability remains in the domain of charity. As for businesses, if they employ persons with disabilities at all or have any disability policy in place, the most frequent motivation behind it is their desire to receive subsidies from the National Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Fund.

Can things be done differently?

Yes. One example is the international corporation Thales, whose representative shared with the conference some experiences of how to make a diverse staff team comprising people with and without disabilities, from various countries and cultures, which is the company’s strongest capital.

The partners of the DARE Consortium: (www.DareProject.eu) shared also their knowledge concerning its subject.

In the second part of the conference there was a discussion in the cafe format. Results of it will be published soon on this website.

During the event we distributed a publication, featuring an interview with the Polish Ombudsman Prof. Irena Lipowicz, who had shared her reflections on disability in the context of corporate social responsibility. Electronic version of this publication can be download there.

Simultaneous interpretation of conference proceedings was provided into and from English, French and Polish.

Organisers:
The Jagiellonian University Disability Support Service
The Jagiellonian University Careers Office
DARE 2 Project Consortium

Partners:
University of Iceland, Reykjavik
Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France
Cyprus Adult Education Association
Thales, an international corporation with its main office in Paris
Learning-Difference Ltd, a company from the United Kingdom

Honorary patrons:
Polish Ombudsman Prof. Irena Lipowicz
Jagiellonian University Rector Prof. Karol Musioł
University of Iceland Rector Dr Kristin Ingolfsdottir

Media partners:
A Jagiellonian University monthly "Alma Mater"
Universum
A web portal www.odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl