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The International Center for Alcohol Policies continues to work with other civil society organizations in support of the UN Global Compact, and remains committed to its principles. ICAP is an international, not-for-profit organization based in Washington DC and supported by 10 of the world's largest drinks manufacturers, whose mission is to help reduce the abuse of alcohol worldwide and promote understanding of the role of alcohol in society, as well as to encourage dialogue and pursue partnerships involving the beverage alcohol industry, the public health community and others interested in alcohol policy. ICAP actively promotes several of the Global Compact principles through our many worldwide activities.
In cooperation with the National College of Ireland, ICAP organized an international conference to examine the rights and responsibilities of all parties interested in the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol worldwide. Entitled "Alcohol, Ethics, & Society," this conference provided a framework for discussion of these issues among representatives and officials from government, commercial, non-governmental sectors, as well as consumers, clinicians, and educators. The conference was held in Dublin in October, 2002. A book based on the conference is now being prepared, provisionally entitled-"Corporate Social Responsibility and Alcohol: the Need and Potential for Partnership."
In response to a request from the World Health Organization, ICAP prepared a background paper for a WHO Technical Meeting in Valencia in May 2002. The paper reflects ICAP's beverage alcohol industry sponsors' ethical position regarding the effect of alcohol advertising on youth, and suggests collaboration between ICAP and international organizations, including UN bodies such as WHO. This paper will be included in an official WHO monograph on alcohol marketing and young people.
We have also produced, through a series of regional and international conferences, a global Charter on alcohol. This Charter seeks to balance the responsibilities of business, government, and academic and research bodies as they relate to individual freedom and choice.
The ICAP president has just completed his term as Chairman of the Global Road Safety Partnership, a joint World Bank/Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies initiative. The mission of this organization is to reduce the number of lives lost unnecessarily in traffic accidents. Developing and transitional countries are a special priority, with ten focus countries currently implementing GRSP programs. The ICAP president continues to serve as Vice Chairman of GRSP.
Over the past two years, ICAP has consulted a variety of international organizations to identify ways the private sector could be more actively involved in the prevention of family violence internationally. As a result of these consultations, ICAP has taken the lead in organizing an exploratory meeting on international, public-private cooperation to prevent family violence, which will include representatives from government, the commercial, nongovernmental and intergovernmental sectors. The meeting will be hosted by the World Bank and will take place in September 2003 in Washington, D.C.
Utilizing methodology developed by the World Health Organization, ICAP has created a life skills education project for primary schools in South Africa and Botswana. The goal of the curriculum is to teach children life skills identified by the WHO as being important complements to the basic academic regimen for developing young people. Discussions are ongoing regarding the replication of this approach in countries in Latin America.
ICAP collaborated with the International Labor Office and the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions to plan a seminar that would train workers in the hospitality industry regarding strategies for preventing substance abuse in the hotel and tourism industry. ICAP also provided a literature review on this topic for the organizers.
A representative of the UN Global Compact secretariat met with the ICAP Board of Directors in March 2003 and discussed ways in which the beverage alcohol sector could more meaningfully support the Global Compact principles. Following that meeting individual corporate sponsors of ICAP have joined the Global Compact or are in the process of doing so.
At the invitation of the French government, ICAP has contributed an editorial on Corporate Citizenship and the Alcohol Beverage Industry to the background documentation prepared for the G8 and IMF meetings in 2003.
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