The III Latin American Summit of Gaming Associations, whose main topic was Social Corporate Responsibility, ended successfully with a principle of a general agreement among the Peruvian associations to work together in order to evidence, before the public opinion, actions of social character developed by these companies and their affiliates, on top of compromising with activities shared in the search of increasing their social work and improving the gaming image before the communication media and the citizens.
The initiative had the manifest support of the General Direction of Casino and Slot Machines of Mincetur, led by engineer Manuel San Roman Benavente, who proposed that the web page http://www.mincetur.gob.pe/turismo/DGJCMT/would have a section to highlight the activities of Company Social Responsibility of the industry in Peru and enhance the fact that in 2008, after a very strong earthquake, the gaming industry helped during the emergency and reconstruction of the vast affected sectors.
Cristina Sierralta and Ricardo Menéndez, Manager and President of SONAJA (Sociedad de Juegos de Azar/Games of Chance Society), introduced some of the plans of the association and its affiliates, from the support and benefits to its own collaborators, donations to cancer charitable institutions and the celebration of special dates, to the construction of houses in circumstances of public calamity. The management welcomed the proposal for show and to make known each of the activities of the association in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as their desire to join in a common project to strengthen these actions and that their results will join for the full image of a sector unjustly stigmatized.
Jaime Lopez Chau, of the Proas Foundation, insisted on the phrase “unity in diversity” to make emphasis in the individual tasks accompanied by other collective tasks, always with the best common purposes. The leader expressed: “It is time to awaken; the world requires a solid path and we have the obligation to follow it.”
Baltazar Medina, President of the Colombian Federaton of Gaming Entrepreneurs, Feceazar, explained that in his country 11 social foundations lead projects in favor of vulnerable groups, with an investment of approximately us$ 15 million per year. Rocio Albornoz of Fecoljuegos Colombia also stated the need to work together to obtain indicators of aggregate value in the social part from the companies that belong to this line of business.
Jose Anibal Aguirre, CEO of FADJA Colombia and FADJA Peru, manager of this idea, is pleased with the agreements reached and emphasized in the need to give projection and sustainability to these purposes, defining strategies, a Directive Council and a schedule of activities with the tasks that need to be done.