Announcing interactive Executive Sessions to precede global Summit on responsible finance
Zurich, Switzerland – The Responsible Finance & Investment (RFI) Summit 2017 is pleased to announce the addition of a series of Executive Sessions organized by the RFI Foundation and INCEIF, the Global University of Islamic finance. These sessions will introduce participants from all backgrounds to the connection between Islamic Finance and Responsible Finance and how both can work together to promote impactful and sustainable global development.
Each of the sessions will be led by a veteran of the responsible finance industry with a deep background in Islamic finance. Participants will learn how to make meaningful social impact and connect with other approaches to responsible finance. The sessions are designed to be interactive in order to link the wealth of knowledge and experience of the Session Leaders to the participants’ backgrounds, in line with the overall Summit theme of “Building Bridges, Expanding Impact”.
Commenting on the Executive Sessions, Daud Vicary Abdullah, President & CEO of INCEIF said: “The alignment between the guiding principles of Islamic finance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is significant. The recent World Bank and Islamic Development Bank’s Global Report on Islamic finance – A Catalyst for Shared Prosperity draws attention to the advocacy of Islamic Finance and its alignment with Responsible Finance. The report, to which INCEIF faculty have contributed, details the prospects for the global Islamic finance industry and its potential to help reduce worldwide income inequality, enhance the sharing of prosperity and achieve the United Nations’ SDGs.”
Daud added that these interactive Executive Sessions would provide a platform for people working in responsible finance who do not realize the alignment of responsible investment with Islamic finance to apply their existing expertise to contribute to greater cooperation with Islamic finance.”
Blake Goud, CEO of the RFI Foundation added: “We have found significant common interest between responsible investment and Islamic finance in our research, and these Executive Sessions will build awareness of the shared values guiding responsible finance. We expect it will provide an open and interactive forum to connect practitioners from across responsible finance with other likeminded individuals from different backgrounds to work towards the ultimate goal of responsible finance which is more equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.”
The INCEIF-RFI Executive Program at the RFI Summit will run from 9:30am to 12:30pm on 4 May 2017. It will feature four interactive sessions and will be followed by the official opening of the RFI Summit on the same day. The cost for participating in the INCEIF-RFI Executive Session will be CHF 200. Register today at www.rfisummit.org.
About the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit 2017
The Summit, to be held on 3 and 4 May 2017 at the Atlantis Hotel by Giardino in Zurich, Switzerland, will play a vital role in connecting representatives from across the responsible finance industry to build on the growing cooperation between responsible investment (RI), environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Islamic finance. The RFI Summit in Zurich is an initiative of the RFI Foundation and Swiss Arab Network, two globally active nonprofits institutions seeking to build awareness of shared values that can bring together people from various backgrounds working towards similar goals connected to generating benefits to society.
About RFI Foundation
The RFI Foundation is a non-profit organisation with a mission to identify a neutral, nonpartisan and universal value proposition that encourages convergence of responsible finance practices. RFI evolves Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and the Islamic finance sectors towards a convergence of their shared standards, and engages stakeholders to build the responsible finance industry as a catalyst to support equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic development. Visit us at www.rfi-foundation.org
About INCEIF
INCEIF was set up by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2005 to develop human capital and knowledge leadership for the global Islamic finance industry. Apart from its academic programmes, which are Masters of Islamic Finance Practice, MSc in Islamic Finance and PhD in Islamic Finance, INCEIF also offers customised executive training programmes and industry-focused applied research in line with its vision to be the knowledge and thought leader in Islamic finance.
INCEIF syllabus is structured with inputs from industry players to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry experience. INCEIF faculty members, who are globally respected among the Islamic finance academia and industry, have a combined wealth of experience and diversity. The faculty, coupled with continuous support from the industry, provides INCEIF students with strong mentoring relationships and opportunities for professional development.
Since 2015, INCEIF’s research has been ranked 1st in Malaysia amongst the higher education institutions in the Research Papers in Economics (RePec) rankings. We are also the only institution to have the research of five professors recognised by RePec, among the top 30 academics in Malaysia. We are ranked 40th in Asia as a university. Within the Financial Economics & Finance Department category, defined by REPEC, we are ranked 30th in the world.
Today there are 1,332 agents for change in the world from INCEIF. Some of them are already making meaningful contributions to the advancement of Islamic finance at all levels be it product development, policy framework and implementation; regulation and enforcement; and innovation. A few were in the top 3 finalists at the recent EFICA awards held in Dubai recently.
INCEIF’s curriculum used and adopted worldwide by various academic institutions. INCEIF has a global reach of our executive education through executive programmes, forums & special programmes. In furthering capability development initiatives, INCEIF works closely with emerging markets such as Maldives, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Kyrgyz for knowledge transfer as well as knowledge building.
For more information, please visit www.inceif.org.
About Swiss Arab Network
The Swiss Arab Network (SAN) is a non-profit networking organization with headquarter in Zurich and affiliations in the Arab world that strives to bridge gaps, promote sustainable exchange and intensify the mutual understanding among Swiss and Arab people. SAN is a networking platform and organizes events and gives speeches on topics like Swiss and Arab finance, business, culture, art and film. Established and high-profile organisations from Switzerland and the Arab world are members of the network. Visit us at www.swissarab.org.
Media Contacts
- Blake Goud, Chief Executive Officer, RFI Foundation:
blake.goud@rf-institute.org, www.rfi-foundation.org
· Baidura Ahmad, Strategic Planning & Corporate Affairs, INCEIF
E-mail:- baidura@inceif.org
© Press Release 2017
