Emerging leaders from the Papua New Guinea Australia Alumni Association (PNGAAA) worked alongside CEOs and public sector leaders during the second workshop in the Leadership Dialogue Series this week in Port Moresby.

The Alumni leaders and CEOs, managers and leaders from Kina, ANZ, Oilsearch, Exxon Mobil, Nambawan Super and the PNG Government explored concepts and local case studies designed to support  the creation of ‘Shared Value’ coalitions.

Shared Value is the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility and “focuses on companies creating measurable business value by identifying and addressing social problems that intersect with their business” (https://sharedvalue.org/about-shared-value)

“Shared Value thinking has great potential to fast track development in PNG by providing a framework for public private partnerships and clear incentives for each partner”, noted Mark Baker CEO of ANZ Bank.

By pairing young alumni with established leaders, the Leadership Dialogue seeks to build vertical as well as horizontal coalitions, providing the next generation of public and private sector leaders with the ideas and networks to contribute to PNG’s development.

“Mentoring young, intelligent Papua New Guineans is a vital part of our work as leaders, and crucial to the success of our organisations in an increasingly complex business and social environment”, explained Susil Nelson-Kongoi, National Content Manager, Exxon Mobil.

Professor Matainaho, President of the PNGAAA was delighted to have the support of business houses and CEO’s in the ambitious Leadership Dialogue project.

“The workshop provided insight on how the shared value approach creates new opportunities for PNG companies, civil society organisations and governments to leverage the power of market-based competition in addressing social issues” said Professor Matainaho, President of the PNGAAA.

The Leadership Dialogue delivers leadership-themed events, training and workshops to facilitate the formation of public, private and civil society coalitions to pursue ‘shared value’ development in PNG. This was the second workshop in the Leadership Dialogue Workshop series, facilitated by Ivan Choi, Asia Pacific Director and Steve Buckley, Associate of Palladium.

PNGAAA was formed in 2006 to provide Papua New Guineans who have studied in Australia with a mechanism to contribute to development in PNG and support their ongoing development as leaders. PNGAAA has Chapters in Madang, Goroka, Kokopo, Lae, Lorengau, Enga and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.