São Paulo – Representatives of more than twenty companies and civil organizations attended the First Corporate Meeting – The role of the private sector in the integration of the immigrant and refugee, this Wednesday (2nd) at Palácio dos Bandeirantes, the seat of the São Paulo state government. The event aims to raise awareness among business owners to open jobs posts for foreigners that are arriving in the state.
“More than just Syrians, Congolese or Haitians, when they cross the border, immigrants and refugees are also ‘paulistas’ [from São Paulo state] that need a job to provide dignity to their journey in the state”, said the state’s chief of staff, Edson Aparecido, according to a statement released by the state. The event was promoted by the Special Advisory for Foreign Affairs (AEAI) of São Paulo state in a partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UN Global Compact, an initiative of the former secretary-general of the UN, Kofi Annan, which gathers companies, unions, NGOs and other civil organizations.
The event gathered approximately one hundred people, with a majority of business owners. Among the companies represented in the meeting were Amil, Siemens, OAS, BRF and Carrefour. “The meeting had a clear goal of opening positions for immigrants and refugees and I believe that we totally reached this goal in raising awareness among the business owners that attended”, assessed Ana Carolina Conde, head of AEAI, via email to ANBA.
“Our expectation now turns to the Job Fair at the Immigrant Citizenship Integration Center that should take place in February 2016. We are positive that the business representatives that attended the meeting are interested in the cause and could make a difference in the employability of these foreigners, in addition to passing forward the message to other companies”, said Conde, about the continuity of the pro-refugee actions.
The event hosted as speakers Nadine Gasman, representative of UN Women; Alexandra Loras, spouse of the France’s consul in São Paulo; Reinaldo Bulgarelli, of Txai Consultoria e Educação; Karina de Andrage, Social Responsibility manager of Carrefour; Fabrice Le Nude, owner of Patisserie Douce France; and refugees François Choumy and Abiodun Oleswole Michaell.
“The integration via a job is an excellent starting point to those arriving. We want the support of the chambers of commerce to involve their members in this initiative”, said Conde.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
