A leather bridge with Africa

An International Forum is being held in Bologna from April 17-19, 2007. It is being organised by ICE, ASSOMAC, LINEAPELLE and the Bologna Fair, under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of International Trade and the support of Regione Emilia Romagna, and further to agreements with the African Associations ASOAC and ESALIA to organise an International Forum called: A Leather Bridge with Africa'. It is scheduled to take place in the Bologna Exhibition Centre and will coincide with the trade fair events Lineapelle, Simac and Tanning Tech. During the entire period of the trade fair, the event makes provisions for: * the setting up of a functioning pilot footwear artisan workshop for the production of finished shoes * the invitation of 25 delegates - from Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda - whom, for various reasons, are all involved with issues connected to the industrial development of African countries * an International Forum, scheduled to be held in the Bologna Exhibition Centre, on Thursday April 19. The Forum will provide the opportunity to discuss, amongst other things and together with the delegates invited from various countries, the relationships between Italy and Africa in the leather sector and which initiatives would be most appropriate to enable the African leather and leather-products artisan sector to acquire the skills it needs in order to respond to the opportunities offered by the international market. The initiative will be attended by the international institutions which are involved, for various reasons, with cooperation for development and credit management, such as: ITC, CDE, Unido, FAO, ESIPP, UNDP, World Bank, Chamber of Commerce of Milan, PROMOS, Ethic Bank, Intesa-San Paolo, USAID. The event is connected to a project planned in 2005 by ASSOMAC and the Italian Trade Commission, realised by PISIE with the support of the Italian Ministry of International Trade. The project is the result of careful study into the current state of production in Africa and Middle East Countries and has revealed the active presence of artisan and informal footwear production capable of satisfying more than 60% of local market demand. A production system true and proper, employing hundreds of thousands of people all over the African continent, but one which faces extinction as a result of some negative effects of globalisation. The main aims of the initiative are the improvement, in technological and productivity terms, of the micro-enterprises and small family-run cottage units and the creation of a model, even informal, for the funding of micro-enterprises. A model supported by jointly liable credit institutions for the establishment of a guaranty fund in order to overcome difficulties encountered in gaining access to credit.