Publications

Regional Seminar for Labour-Based Practitioners

"New challenges for employment-intensive investments"

The 8^th regional seminar for labour-based practitioners was recently held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The five-day meeting, which ran from 15 to 19 October, drew more than 200 participants from 27 countries mainly in Africa, but also from Asia and Europe. The Egyptian Social Fund for Development (SFD) hosted the seminar, supported by ILO/ASIST.

The scope of the regional seminars has broadened over the years from the focus on rural roads to include other sectors such as urban infrastructure development through labour-based technology, rural transport and accessibility planning, and water infrastructure development. This is reflected in the papers presented at the seminar and the profiles of the participants who came from a variety of backgrounds.

The theme for this seminar was, "New challenges for employment-intensive investments". In her opening remarks, the Director of the ILO office in Cairo underscored the importance of this seminar in the context of linking investment strategies and employment policies in order to seriously fight poverty. ILO/ASIST presented a paper highlighting some of the challenges facing labour-based technology and its practitioners. Geoff Edmonds of IT Transport presented the keynote paper to the seminar in which he illuminated the audience with his excellent overview of present issues and challenges for employment-intensive investment programmes.

A number of papers were presented focusing on the following issues:

¨ Urban communities;

¨ Rural infrastructure;

¨ Policy issues;

¨ Capacity building;

¨ Rural travel and transport;

¨ Implementation.

The papers were presented in parallel group sessions and the participants had the opportunity to discuss the papers in the groups and there were presentations and discussions on the group recommendations in plenary.

From an environmental rehabilitation project in Cairo, the canalisation and tree planting along a river in the city

The participants spent a day out on site visits to three SFD projects in Cairo. These included a site of an environment improvement project where the labour-based approach is used in the rehabilitation of canals (lining and tree planting), a wastewater (sewer) construction and drainage project located in the Old Cairo, surrounded by ancient buildings and historical places, and a water supply network construction in an unplanned settlement. All these projects fall under the Public Works Program of the SFD in Egypt and are executed by newly trained contractors.

The final plenary session concluded with a Cairo Statement bringing together the important issues discussed during the week. Papers and proceedings from the seminar will be available from ASIST shortly. Please watch further news from ASIST.

The seminar was efficiently hosted by SFD, and the Egyptian Government officials and Senior Managers of the SFD, who made official opening and closing speeches and remarks, were duly congratulated with a well-organised Regional Seminar for Labour-based Practitioners.

Two labour-based contractors, from Egypt and Zambia respectively, discuss the challenges they face in their programme activities