GSB urges firms to focus more on social contributions

15 Sept 09:31 Key points summarised by AI

The Government Savings Bank (GSB) calls on businesses to prioritize addressing poverty and inequality by transitioning from traditional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Creating Shared Value (CSV).
GSB advocates for CSV, which integrates social problem-solving into core business models to generate sustainable solutions and profits, rather than viewing social projects as mere costs.
Positioned as a social bank, GSB reinvests its banking profits into grassroots social projects, providing loans and career development to millions of low-income individuals, often initiating projects with expected losses for greater social impact.
The GSB Forum 2023 highlighted global examples like Grameen Bank's microfinance model for poverty eradication and the World Bank's promotion of Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) as tools to foster shared values and achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Examining Thailand’s four-part education revolution

Yesterday 14:22 Key points summarised by AI

Thailand's Education Ministry is implementing a four-pronged strategy to address its students' below-average performance in PISA 2025 and tackle significant educational inequality.
The plan prioritizes closing performance gaps by increasing funding for small and low-income schools, overhauling the curriculum to foster critical thinking, and adopting a data-driven management system to reduce teacher workload.
Key initiatives include enhancing school safety, combating cyberbullying, and expanding mental health support through peer-to-peer networks, recognizing the severe impact of distress on academic performance.
An education expert advises verifying if PISA improvements stem from structural changes, advocating for a revived STEM curriculum with practical 'learn by doing' methods, and urging bureaucratic reform to link teacher evaluations to student development.