MRCB Discusses Responsible Business with Universities in Mandalay

MCRB gave talks on 2nd and 3rd February to Yadanabon University (Mandalay) and Mandalay University students and faculty from a wide range of disciplines including Anthropology, History, Archaeology. Geology, Zoology and Botany.

Vicky Bowman’s presentations focused on responsible business, international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Global Compact.

She also spoke about the emerging Myanmar environmental impact assessment process and role that universities can play in research on the impacts of business, and in the training of future Myanmar EIA experts from a variety of discplines, as well as businesspeople, government officials, civil society organisations and journalist with knowledge of how to address the negative environmental and social impacts of business.

Participants were particularly keen to discuss the environmental impacts of business and the inadequacy of Mandalay’s waste management system, and called for collaboration among industrial zones, weaving factories, Mandalay City Development Committee, and other stakeholders in creating solutions for sustainable waste management and pollution control.

MCRB Programme Associate Thein Than Htay presented MCRB’s 2015 Sector-Wide Impact Assessment on Tourism to Yadanabon faculty, in the presence of Rector ​Dr Aye Kyaw.

Participants discussed the positive and negative impacts of tourism in Myanmar.  They heard inputs from students, including on Kachin perspectives, and discussed how to develop new destinations such as Pyay with tourism products such as Community Involved Tourism (see MCRB/Hanns Seidel Foundation workshop). Faculty voted on their favourite tourism destination (Bagan), as well as the issues of greatest concern for tourism in Mandalay, namely road safety and the environment.

The talks were held the support of the Nagata advertising company of Japan which is sponsoring the installation of litter bins in Bagan and tourist areas in Mandalay. The company’s founder, Mr Ichiro​ Nagata attended what was the last in a series of discussions on sustainable development.

Read also

• Tourism Sector
• New Report and Upcoming Webinar on Human Rights in Tourism
• White Paper on Tourism in Myanmar
• Planning for a Brighter Future in Mrauk U: Cultural Heritage and Tourism Management
• 4th National Conference on Communities and Tourism 2019

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