TURIN, ITALY — “Who was Mohamed Bouazizi?” was the first question posed to us. Some of us repeated the name, rolled our eyes and looked at our seatmates, until a guy from Saudi Arabia answered, “He’s the guy from Tunisia who’s in the news”.
And of course, it all hit us — he was the Tunisian street vendor who wanted to put up a business but instead got his goods confiscated by the authorities. He became so frustrated with the system that he set himself on fire. That act became the catalyst for the Tunisian revolution, which in turn started what is now known as the “Arab Spring”.
Thus, was our introduction to the two-week “Summer Academy for Sustainable Enterprise Development” held at the International Labor Organization Training Center in Turin, Italy, which ended July 1st.
The phrase “sustainable enterprises”, or sustainable SMEs, was emphasized from Day 1 as SMEs that do not just look at the profit or economic aspect of their businesses, but also social and environmental concerns.
This concept has now been adopted by a number of UN agencies and is more popularly known as the triple bottom line or 3P’s, meaning SMEs have to look at Profit, People, and the Planet to be sustainable.
Only a fourth of our class of 85 were women, but we were a veritable United Nations-mix of 31 countries, races, and cultures: Africans, Arabs, South Americans, Europeans, Central and Southeast Asians.
The focus of our program was how to come up with strategies for governments and development agencies to tackle the problems of creating new and better jobs, because whether in Nigeria, the Philippines, or Tajikistan, the same conditions are happening.
Some 200 million plus people worldwide are looking for work and one of the biggest challenges is helping SMEs so that they can give people more, and better, jobs.
Topics in the plenary sessions included Green Jobs and the Green Economy, or jobs which help reduce negative environmental impact ultimately leading to environmentally, economically and socially sustainable enterprises and economies; Business Enabling Environment, or a way to look at policy, regulatory and institutional factors which will enable more investments by SMEs; Job Creation in Multinational Enterprises, or why SMEs should sell to MNEs; Inclusive Enterprise Development, or equal employment opportunities for all including women and persons with disabilities; and, Promoting Sustainable Enterprises through good workplace practices, or management’s role in workplace cooperation.
As electives, I chose Strengthening Creative Industries; Monitoring Results of Private Sector Development based on DCED Standards; Good Workplace Practices; and Promoting Sustainable Enterprises in Global Supply Chains.
I chose them based on: a) potential, since Dumaguete is a hot spot for talented young individuals and can definitely be developed as a Creative City with some creative industries; b) intriguing title, since I thought DCED sounded like one of those intelligence agencies, only to find out that it actually stands for the non-exotic “Donor Committee for Enterprise Development”, which was still a good thing; and, c) interest, since I was curious to know if there was anything that Dumaguete can contribute to the global supply chain.
Perhaps to remind us of where we were, the long days of lectures and case studies were interspersed with field trips and factory visits. Weekends were planned so we could be treated to a glimpse of Italy’s grand history: the numerous palazzos and museums that were once residences of the House of Savoy, the old town center which is a UNESCO World Heritage site along with more than 30 monuments and buildings in the region, churches, and, for most Catholics, the prime reason to visit this city — the Shroud of Turin.
Of course, there were those who did not need any reminder. They were right at home in the country of Armani, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana. Meanwhile, I was content with my version of la dolce vita: having gelato at Valentino Park.
Jong Fortunato attended the ILO Summer Academy courtesy of GIZ, the German International Cooperation office. He is the provincial director of the Department of Trade & Industry in Negros Oriental.
