With the purpose of deepening the influence and impact of Catholic Social Teaching on the world of economics and business, more than 60 entrepreneurs from Latin America gathered together in Rome to participate in the Business, Growth, and Inclusion Gathering, hosted on October 22 and 23, 2018. This event was organized by IPADE in collaboration with the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, as well as other Latin American business schools.
In his welcome speech, Mons. Luis Navarro highlighted the purpose of the meeting. “What does Catholic Social Teaching have to do with the world of economics? Given the significant social and economic problems that predominate in Latin America, this gathering aims to create a climate of reflection to identify proposals, solutions, and ideas that can be put into practice. If we can achieve this, it will be a major step forward.”
Nine Latin American business schools participated in the gathering: ESE Business School (Chile), IAE Business School (Argentina), IDE Business School (Ecuador), IEEM Escuela de Negocios (Uruguay), INALDE Business School (Colombia), ISE Business School (Brazil), PAD Escuela de Dirección (Peru), UNIS (Guatemala), and IPADE (Mexico).
Rafael Gómez Nava, Dean of IPADE, emphasized the regional importance of this meeting: “It is a dream come true to be able to gather together entrepreneurs from these nine business schools, entrepreneurs who have big dreams and who want to build better companies based on solid foundations.”
The focus of the gathering was business, growth, and inclusion, and participants worked to deepen their analysis and understanding of the anthropological, philosophical, cultural, legal, and theological aspects of the social teaching of the Church. Experts in Catholic social teaching participated, along with leaders from business and social organizations.
Generating social value in the business world and developing public policies that favor inclusive economic growth are necessary and challenging tasks for today’s entrepreneurs. The Business, Growth, and Inclusion Gathering offered a space for Latin American business leaders to reflect on and highlight the role of entrepreneurs in social responsibility.
