Ateneo to host world forum of business schools

MANILA, Philippines - From San Francisco’s Bay Area to Bilbao, from Jakarta to Jaipur, from G-8 economies to emerging markets, some of the world’s most respected business thinkers will be flying in to Manila this July 18 to take part in the 16th World Forum of the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS). The forum, hosted this year by the John Gokongwei School of Management of the Ateneo de Manila University, will tackle sustainable development, and how business schools can adopt each other’s best practices to educate the world’s future leaders.

The special adviser and former head of networks of the United Nations Global Compact, Dr. Manuel Escudero, will deliver the keynote address on July 19, 2010. Escudero, a former member of the Spanish Parliament, is also the director-general of the business school at University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain). He is expected to talk about the UN Global Compact, a United Nations initiative to involve private enterprise in sustainable development. Escudero is also one of the world’s prominent thought leaders on responsible management education, and heads the UN secretariat for the Principles of Responsible Management Education.

The forum is expected to generate ideas on how schools can best prepare students to tackle the challenges of a global economy that demands sustainable development. Best practices on social entrepreneurship, along with topics on caring for the environment and developing businesses for the poor, are also expected to be presented.

Expected to take part in the Forum are the deans from schools such as Spain’s ESADE (one of the top 20 MBA schools in the world), Japan’s Sophia University, and USA’s University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University. The World Forum is the largest annual gathering of Jesuit business school deans from all over the world. This is the first time that the Philippines, and the John Gokongwei School of Management of the Ateneo de Manila University, will be hosting the event.

For inquiries, contact Allan Yu, project manager, 16th World Forum, tel. no. 4261204 or email 16thiajbsworldforum @admu.edu.ph