Focusing Our Volunteer Efforts on the World’s Most Pressing Problems: The Sustainable Development Goals
Focusing Our Volunteer Efforts on the World’s Most Pressing Problems: The Sustainable Development Goals
Richard Dictus
Executive Coordinator
United Nations Volunteers
Response Panel
Sue Stephenson, Vice President, Community Footprints, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Dr. Jürgen Brokatzky-Geiger, Global Head, Corporate Responsibility, Novartis
Markus Mader, General Director, Swiss Red Cross
Zahra Darvishi, Head of Corporate Citizenship Switzerland, Credit Suisse AG
Richard Dictus lead off the conference with the challenge – for companies to contribute in a major way, through their volunteer efforts, to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
About the Presenter
RICHARD DICTUS took position as Executive Coordinator of United Nations Volunteers in 2013, bringing over 25 years of experience, in increasingly responsible positions, with various agencies in the United Nations system. He has served in Malawi, Yemen, Sudan, Lesotho, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Fiji and UNDP Headquarters in New York. He leads over 7,300 UN Volunteers who work at the forefront of peace and development in some of the most difficult working environments in the world and more than 150 professionals who support their work in 86 field offices worldwide. Through his leadership, UNV is playing a major role in ensuring the recognition of volunteering as a strategic asset to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. He is actively building strong volunteer-based partnerships with the private sector.
Response Panel
Presentation by
Sue Stephenson, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
SUE STEPHENSON is a Corporate Social Responsibility executive with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, leads the strategic development and execution of the Community Footprints social and environmental responsibility program. Sue is charged with expanding the company’s global social impact efforts through initiatives focused on child well-being, hunger and poverty relief, and environmental responsibility.
MARKUS MADER is the Director-General of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC), which runs programs in Switzerland and in over 30 countries worldwide. He is a member of the Foundation Council of Swiss Air-Ambulance (Rega) and the SRC Humanitarian Foundation, and sits on the Foundation Councils of Swisscor and Swiss Solidarity. He is also the board member of the Swiss Centre Expertise in Human Rights.
JUERGEN BROKATZKY-GEIGER, Ph.D. is the Global Head of Corporate Responsibility for Novartis. Prior to his position as the Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, Juergen he was the Head of Human Resources of Novartis. He also held various Research and Development positions as Head of Chemical and Analytical Development, and as the Global Head of Technical R&D.
ZAHRA DARVISHI is the Head of Corporate Citizenship Switzerland at Credit Suisse AG, responsible for Corporate Volunteering and the Youth Unemployment Initiative. She is also the Co-Chair of the Disability Interest Forum Switzerland, a trustee of the both Braille Without Borders and the SVC Foundation, a board member of Check Your Chance, and a designated Responsible Leader of the BMW Foundation.