Technical preparation workshop for intergovernmental regional seminar
The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare an overseas Employment (MEWOE) of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has invited the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), some countries of destination, East Asian countries and the SAARC Secretariat in Dhaka from 01-02 July 2013 to participate in an intergovernmental regional seminar for promoting cooperation for safe migration and decent work.
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30 June 2013, Dhaka: The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare an overseas Employment (MEWOE) of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has invited the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), some countries of destination, East Asian countries and the SAARC Secretariat in Dhaka from 01-02 July 2013 to participate in an Intergovernmental Regional Seminar for Promoting Cooperation for Safe Migration and Decent Work. The MEWOE has also invited the other related ministries from Bangladesh such as the Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Labour and Employment and Planning to participate in the Seminar. The MEWOE has requested for the technical assistance of the International Labour Organization (ILO) through its Project, “Promoting Decent Work through Improved Migration Policy and its Application in Bangladesh”, which is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Given that the Bangladeshi officials would include nominated officials from various ministries who may or may not be familiar with the issues in labour migration, the ILO proposed to conduct a Preparatory Workshop for the nominated officials. The MEWOE welcomed the suggestion and offered a workshop to the nominated officials. The ILO considered the information requirements and points of discussion and negotiations under the topics of the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar for Promoting Cooperation for Safe Migration and Decent Work for inclusion in the Preparatory Workshop.
The Preparatory Workshop was conducted as an extended experience for some officials who are from the MEWOE and provided new information to those from the other ministries. It included active involvement by all participants and a commitment by all participants to make use of what they gained from one-another in the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar. The Preparatory Workshop had the following components:
The first component session began with Opening of the Preparatory Workshop by Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan, Secretary, MEWOE. Dr. Khan established the need for various topics included in the Concept Paper and Annotated Agenda of the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar among participants. Begum Shamsun Nahar, Director General, Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) spoke about the process leading to the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar. Speaking further both Dr. Khan and Begum Nahar indicated ways the Seminar topics have emerged from the professional activities of the MEWOE and experiences of the Bangladeshi migrant Workers. They expressed that the
The second component began with Ms. Nisha, Chief Technical Advisor for Labour Migration in the ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, laying out the activities, including preparatory reading and negotiation points that are to be discussed in the Preparatory Workshop. It was pointed out by them that the goal of this component is to prepare the nominated officials for the intensive discussions and to establish individual buy-in to the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar.
Mr. Nilim Baruah, Regional Labour Migration Specialist from the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, together with Ms. Nisha facilitated discussions and linking the experiential accounts of the Bangladeshi migrant workers with the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar topics and the activities of each ministry represented in the Preparatory Workshop. The Preparatory Workshop provided an opportunity for the officials to actively interact with one another as well as clarify doubts and issues.
The Preparatory Workshop concluded with the third component in which a the summary of the discussion was shared by the ILO. Mr. Hazarat Ali, Additional Secretary, MEWOE gave concluding remarks and vote of thanks. He hoped that the nominated officials would make use of the information they acquired in the earlier components of the Preparatory Workshop during the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar. He thanked the ILO and SDC for their active support and cooperation.
Given that the Bangladeshi officials would include nominated officials from various ministries who may or may not be familiar with the issues in labour migration, the ILO proposed to conduct a Preparatory Workshop for the nominated officials. The MEWOE welcomed the suggestion and offered a workshop to the nominated officials. The ILO considered the information requirements and points of discussion and negotiations under the topics of the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar for Promoting Cooperation for Safe Migration and Decent Work for inclusion in the Preparatory Workshop.
The Preparatory Workshop was conducted as an extended experience for some officials who are from the MEWOE and provided new information to those from the other ministries. It included active involvement by all participants and a commitment by all participants to make use of what they gained from one-another in the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar. The Preparatory Workshop had the following components:
The first component session began with Opening of the Preparatory Workshop by Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan, Secretary, MEWOE. Dr. Khan established the need for various topics included in the Concept Paper and Annotated Agenda of the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar among participants. Begum Shamsun Nahar, Director General, Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) spoke about the process leading to the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar. Speaking further both Dr. Khan and Begum Nahar indicated ways the Seminar topics have emerged from the professional activities of the MEWOE and experiences of the Bangladeshi migrant Workers. They expressed that the
The second component began with Ms. Nisha, Chief Technical Advisor for Labour Migration in the ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, laying out the activities, including preparatory reading and negotiation points that are to be discussed in the Preparatory Workshop. It was pointed out by them that the goal of this component is to prepare the nominated officials for the intensive discussions and to establish individual buy-in to the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar.
Mr. Nilim Baruah, Regional Labour Migration Specialist from the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, together with Ms. Nisha facilitated discussions and linking the experiential accounts of the Bangladeshi migrant workers with the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar topics and the activities of each ministry represented in the Preparatory Workshop. The Preparatory Workshop provided an opportunity for the officials to actively interact with one another as well as clarify doubts and issues.
The Preparatory Workshop concluded with the third component in which a the summary of the discussion was shared by the ILO. Mr. Hazarat Ali, Additional Secretary, MEWOE gave concluding remarks and vote of thanks. He hoped that the nominated officials would make use of the information they acquired in the earlier components of the Preparatory Workshop during the Intergovernmental Regional Seminar. He thanked the ILO and SDC for their active support and cooperation.