Bangladesh Conference June 2008

In 2006, the MFA Forum held an international conference in Dhaka titled 'Forum for the Future II' that brought together all the key stakeholders in the RMG industry to discuss a roadmap for Bangladesh to support and drive a Responsible Competitiveness agenda for the RMG industry. At this conference, it was agreed that a locally driven multi-stakeholder steering group would convene to discuss and propose a 3-year project plan, with input from all stakeholders, to focus on actions required to sustain the garment industry by meeting the twin challenges of compliance to internationally accepted standards and improving productivity and competitiveness.

This group, now called the Multi-stakeholder Forum Bangladesh (MFB) and is a locally driven group with representation by the Government of Bangladesh, BGMEA & BKMEA industry associations, GTZ (Secretariat), MFA Forum Buyers (Tesco, Gap and Nike) and 1 trade union (Bangladesh National Council) and 1 NGOs (Karmojibi Nari).

Despite the continuous political unrest in the country, the group has made significant progress:

• The MFB has met regularly and delivered a 3-year proposal for action.
• An international consultant, Patrick Neyts, was appointed to facilitate the process for key objectives and to deliver the proposal.
• Unequivocal support for the 3-year proposal was given at the September 2007 MFA Forum International Convening in London.
• The proposal is currently being fundraised for by the MFB Secretariat based at GTZ.

The final program objective was delivered to improve the competitiveness of the RMG industry in Bangladesh in a sustainable manner. Sub-objectives of the four priority measures or packages have been defined as:

• Image building of the RMG industry, public awareness and advocacy on corporate social responsibility (CSR).
• Enable main RMG service providers to offer services as demanded by the industry.
• Capacitate garment producers to enhance social and production standards.
• Improve the skill levels of garment workers, especially women.

Members of the MFB are:

• Mr. Md Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA (Chair)
• Mr. Faisal Samad, Second VP, BGMEA
• Mustafa Mohiuddin, Joint Secretary (Export), Ministry of Commerce
• Ms. Kumkum Kutubuddin, Dhaka office, Nike
• Mr. Razaul Karim, Compliance Officer, Gap
• Ms. Jacqui Gray, Country Manager, Tesco
• Mr. Roy Ramesh, President, United Federation of Garment Workers
• Ms. Elora Ferdous, Campaign Facilitator, Livelihood Programme, Oxfam
• Ms. Ameena Chowdhury, Senior Business Advisory, GTZ PROGRESS (Secretariat)
• For more information on the MFB please contact the MFB Secretariat through Ameena Chowdhury at GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit

For more information on the MFB please contact the MFB Secretariat through Ameena Chowdhury at GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit
 

You may download the proposal and supporting documents below:

Conference Documentation