Workshop on “Pre-intervention Stakeholder Consultation”
The “Pre-intervention Stakeholder Consultation” workshop of Susleather on March 2, 2024, at Hotel Bengal Canary Park in Gulshan aimed to gather input and insights from tannery industry stakeholders before intervention.
The workshop’s primary objective was to display the baseline findings to the tannery representatives and engage them in the decision-making process before the intervention to ensure that their perspectives, concerns, and suggestions are taken into account. The workshop brought together a diverse group of people, including tannery owners, stakeholders, leather technologists, different leather organizations such as BTA (Bangladesh Tanners Association), BFLLFEA (Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters’ Association), the Royal Danish Embassy, and Scholars from AUST as well as SDU (Southern University of Denmark). The workshop started with a presentation on the ‘Objectives of Susleather Project and Workshop Introduction’ by Professor Dr. Dewan Ahsan (Project Coordinator).
After the objective presentation, Ole Justin, Sector Counsellor at the Royal Danish Embassy, remarked on the friendship between Bangladesh and Denmark since 1972, hoping to continue this bonding in the future. He also called on the tannery industry’s representatives to go for sustainable practices to overcome the burdens they are facing right now and earn much profit through exporting. In this regard he explained the compliances and policies of European Union regarding export of leather products and goods in European markets. After that Professor Dr.
Sarwar Morshed (Project Leader, Bangladesh) presented his presentation on baseline observations and the gaps found through baseline study which will be introduced in the intervention activity. A major issue on these tanneries was found to be poor OHS management and low productivity so the certifications which are required to fulfill the criterion to export leather products got
hindered. In addition, Md. Kauser Ali (Head of Operations, Ideatree) showed regarding the project’s activities in tanneries and expected outcomes in this project through presentation.
Besides, presentation on “Intervention Strategy Outline” given by Dr. Abu Hamja (Deputy Project Leader, Bangladesh) and how Lean and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) will be implemented in the following gaps of the selected tannery.
The workshop followed a consultative approach where representatives were encouraged to express their opinions, share their experiences, and raise any concerns they may have regarding the proposed intervention via group discussions. At the end of the group session, the challenges and possible solutions were sorted and collected by taking notes.
Finally, a closing remarks by Prof. Dr. Mohammed Mahbubur Rahman, Vice-Chancellor (In Charge), AUST took place.
