Kuala Lumpur, 27 April 2016 – On the 5th of May, a number of leaders in politics and businesses are gathering in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the current status of children’s rights in ASEAN and bring forth a new perspective on the agenda. Global Child Forum confirmed today that the Forum in Kuala Lumpur will bring approximately 250 high- level leaders in the region, among the key decision makers are:

Hon. Dato’ Sri Rohani Abdul Karim, Minister of Women, Family & Community Development, Government of Malaysia
H.E. Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN
Hon. Mr. Sutham Phanthusak, Representative of the President of the Thai National Legislative Assembly
Ms Wivina Belmonte, Deputy Regional Director, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office
Ulf Karlberg, Chairman of Global Child Forum said “We are delighted to organise Global Child Forum Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur as the city is moving towards becoming a very important hub of ASEAN business. Businesses can play a crucial role in the promotion of children’s rights but up until today, children’s rights are often overlooked as compared to the environment, human rights, community engagement and labor standards. With this opportunity, I would like to urge all business leaders to participate in Global Child Forum to put childen’s rights on top of their business sustainability agenda. It is a truly strategic investment for the future.”

During the Forum in Kuala Lumpur, business leaders will come together to share their best practices in how they promote the children’s rights in all aspects of their business value chains. The list of speakers includes, among others ;

Per Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation from Sweden
Dr. Simon Lord, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Sime Darby Holdings Berhad
Albern Murty, CEO, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd
Rick Ramli, Partner and Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group Malaysia
Dr. Pipat Yodprudtikan, Director, Thaipat Institute
“As a sustainable business, Sime Darby Holdings Berhad advocates the safety and wellbeing of all children and are committed to continuously upholding the rights of children, particularly in the areas where we operate. In the Global Child Forum, we aim to share how we can help accelerate children’s rights while doing good business, and gain insight on a shared purpose to help future generations create a wonderful world, said Dr. Simon Lord, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Sime Darby Holdings Berhad.”

Among the highlights of the event will be the presentation of the first of its kind regional benchmark study on children’s rights and the corporate sector in Southeast Asia. The report by Global Child Forum and Boston Consulting Group analyses how the largest regional and international companies address and report on children’s rights. 289 companies operating in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Philippines across 9 industries (ICT, Food & Beverage, Travel & Tourism, Industrials, Financials, Oil, Gas & Utilities, Consumer goods, Basic materials and Healthcare) were included for the research.

Rick Ramli, Partner and Managing Director of the Boston Consulting Group Malaysia said “The result shows that most industries in the ASEAN region significantly underperform compared to the global average. It is our shared responsibility to work together to promote children’s rights. For a company’s future success, children should be considered as one of its stakeholder groups, as important as the current employees, customers or suppliers. Sustainable economic growth for the businesses and the region can only be guaranteed if the employees, customers and suppliers of tomorrow receive a good education and protection of their rights today.”

The Forum on Southeast Asia is by invitation-only.

If interested in attending the Forum, please contact sea@globalchildforum.org.

Highlights will be available on the Global Child Forum website – www.globalchildforum.org and Twitter feed @GCForum.

Join the conversation by using the event hashtag: #gcfsea