Catholic religious women and men will share insights on leadership and social inclusion on the global stage
Geneva 20.05.2022 – The Global Solidarity Fund (GSF) is convening leaders from the Catholic community at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for dialogue with leaders from the private, non-profit and public sectors. The faith leaders will offer perspectives that will be unique and original in the Davos space, sharing successful strategies they have pursued for social inclusion of the most vulnerable, and lessons learned to ensure that a global recovery provides an economic lift for everyone across all sectors. A roundtable on courageous leadership on May 23 and a roundtable on job creation for migrants and refugees on May 24, both held in the Goal 17 Partnership space in Davos, will be high points of GSF’s participation.
On Monday, May 23, GSF is partnering with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to convene Advancing Courageous Leadership: Elevating Voices From the Margins, a roundtable discussion on how to collaborate to solve the most complex global problems. It will be a unique opportunity to hear and learn directly from the leadership of Catholic Sisters and Brothers who are on the frontlines of issues such as health care, migration, and human trafficking. Working with some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, including migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons, the approximately one million Sisters, Brothers and Priests worldwide embody the qualities of courageous leadership we need in the post-pandemic global recovery. This moment will illustrate their experiences with and in communities of need, as they share important lessons and ideas that can inform the global effort to ensure that future development is holistic, inclusive, and sustainable. The conversation will include leaders from the private and nonprofit sectors as well as Fr. Leonir Chiarello CS, Superior General of the Scalabrinian Missionaries. Participating Sisters will include:
- Patricia Murray ibvm, Executive Secretary of the Rome-based International Union of Superiors General (UISG), a native of Ireland with extensive global experience
- Mary John Kudiyiruppil SSpS, Associate Executive Secretary of UISG and a native of India, where she has served for many years
- Ruth Pilar del Mora FMA, Councilor for the Missions of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a native of Colombia who has served extensively in Ethiopia
On Tuesday, May 24, GSF and Unilever will convene leading thinkers, innovators, and cross-sector partners for Job Creation on the Edges: Refugees, Markets & the Power of Partnerships, with the support of the Hilton Foundation, a roundtable discussion on innovative approaches leveraging market-based solutions to solve critical challenges of our time, such as employment for migrants and refugees. With remarks by Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, the roundtable will open with the launch of Unilever and GSF’s new partnership in Colombia, an innovative private sector and faith-based partnership to work with communities to achieve transformation, stimulate economies, and support the most vulnerable populations, including migrants and refugees in the global workforce. This will serve as a case study on the power of private sector and congregation-led partnerships to provide safe and dignified employment for migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons. An example of such catalyzing partnerships will be the growing coalition of private sector leaders who through the GSF-convened Innovation Lab have already pledged to work together with GSF, local congregations, and other companies to integrate technology solutions, job and skills training, and other existing solutions to bridge the gap between open jobs and these potential candidates.
Marta Guglielmetti, Executive Director of GSF, said: “The Global Solidarity Fund exists to catalyze high-level global partnerships on behalf of the most vulnerable, and we are delighted to bring these communities to Davos through the voices of faith leaders who know them so well. We have seen the transformational change that can be achieved through partnerships of business, philanthropic, development, and faith communities, and know these faith leaders will spark exciting new ideas for collaboration with the leaders gathered at Davos.”
The Global Solidarity Fund is a unique alliance catalyzing partnerships for the most vulnerable across the private sector, the development sector, and Catholic communities. Founded in 2019 by leaders spanning these sectors, GSF fosters synergies among Catholic entities and systemic connections with businesses, investors, philanthropies, international bodies and governments. As a catalyst, GSF supports these development partners in finding coherent solutions to meet the needs of marginalized people holistically and efficiently, accelerating progress toward the SDGs. Early successes have included sparking inter-congregational job creation programs for migrants and refugees, supporting Sisters as effective advocates for development, fostering collaboration on Covid vaccine communication between Catholic communities and global health organizations, and bringing the moral voices of Pope Francis and other faith leaders to global audiences through a collaboration with Global Citizen.
Both events will take place at the Goal 17 Partnership Space, Kurgartenstrasse 1, 7270 Davos, Switzerland. Advancing Courageous Leadership, followed by a reception, will take place on Monday May 23 from 16:00-18:00, and Job Creation on the Edges will take place on Tuesday, May 24 from 11:30–13:00.
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Tom Walsh (t.walsh@globalsolidarityfund.org, based in London)
Alessandra Tarquini (alessandra.tarquini@globalsolidarityfund.org, based in Rome and present in Davos during the events)
