“Greening the Leather Value Chain” and “Leather a Gift of Nature”. These were the two topics respectively of the two biennial events IULTCS – the XXXVI Congress of the International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Society and the V World Leather Congress (WLC), successfully held last November at the magnificent Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Both Congresses were hosted by Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry of Ethiopia and the International Council of Tanners (ICT) and, for the very first time, they were conducted in hybrid mode, with both on-site and online participants, due to the travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Despite this, the Congresses run smoothly, and got the acclaim of an international audience: speakers and delegates expressed their satisfaction with regards to the level of organization, the diversity of the topics discussed and to the in-depth insight gained in the different aspects of the leather making and environmental sustainability.
The three-day Congress, under the theme of “Greening the Leather Value Chain”, was attended by over 240 participants from many countries from all continents. A total of 36 oral and more than 70 poster presentations were made on diverse areas of technology, chemistry and science of leather making and environmental sustainability. The online system also facilitated recordings of all presentations and discussion, which will remain available to registrants for reviewing at their leisure during the next two months.
The Congress was steered by the ALLPI Expert Team led by Professor Mekonnen Hailemariam, with 16 well-known scientists, researchers and professionals in the leather sector as moderators from across the different continents.
At the official opening ceremony of the Congress the IULTCS anthem was played and the Union’s flag was raised. Welcome messages and a keynote speech were provided by Mr Ghebregziabher Ghebremedhin, Acting Executive Director, ALLPI, Dr Luis Zugno, President of IULTCS and His Excellency Mr Tekalegn Bululta, State Minister, Ministry of Industry, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The opening was followed by the presentation of the IULTCS 2021 Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry, presented to Dr T Ramasami, reknowned for his very significant contributions to the chemistry of chromium as a scientist and his leadership in the Indian leather sector for many years, and then the prestigious keynote lecture of the Congress, the Heidemann Lecture, delivered by Professor Anthony Covington.
The three-day Congress was divided into different sessions for oral and visual poster presentation of scientific papers. The scientific papers presenters were from all over the world and participants had the opportunity to ask them questions directly on-line and make comments. All the sessions went smoothly in a hybrid mode. The presenters were also honored with a certificate of merit.
A total of 114 scientific articles presented in oral and written form divided by subject areas, including technology, sustainability, progress, innovation and design.
Day 1 focused on the new developments with regards to cleaner technologies for the leather processing, composite materials and utilization of leather waste resources, and Environmental Management Technologies in the leather industry.
Day 2, instead, focused on the areas of intelligent manufacturing of leather products, cleaner technologies for the leather processing, leather chemicals. As well as Environmental Management Technologies, leather industry entrepreneurship and progress towards sustainability.
Day 3, the final day, had 2 oral and 2 visual poster sessions. The topics and contents of the orally presented scientific papers, that were 9 in number, focused on the areas of scientific research of leather and fashion, life style leather products and design innovation.
At the closing ceremony of the Congress the Union’s flag was handed over to the host of the next Congress, which is the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA). This was followed by various closing remarks by the outstanding hosts.
The Congress is expected to leave delegates with great insights and informative actions in the areas of technology, chemistry and science of leather to address the sector’s challenges.
THE 5TH WORLD LEATHER CONGRESS (WLC)
After the meetings held in South America (Rio de Janeiro, 2011), Europe (Milan, 2015), Asia (Shanghai, 2017), and America (New York, 2019), the 5th World Leather Congress strengthens its global vocation by reaching the African Continent. Held together with IULTCS congress, in the same location of Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, the WLC was held on November, 1st 2021 under the theme “Leather a Gift of Nature”, always in hybrid mode, to provide participants the options of attending either physically or virtually due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation.
Just as the IULTCS, the WLC also is held every two years in different countries of the World and is organized by the International Council of Tanners (ICT) in collaboration with Member Association.
As a matter of fact, both the Congresses have attracted international speakers from the most influential fashion and tanning industries, premier organizations from standards, policy, research, and development globally to discuss leather, offering the global community a complete overview on the leather world and side sectors.
Following the new economic models and the different consumers’ attitudes toward the fashion system, the leather industry has recently been experiencing a technological and digital transformation, by developing and implementing new organization patterns. This transition has gone hand to hand with the industry’s commitment to safeguard and keep intact the story, cultural relevance, significance, sustainability, and properties of “leather”.
As a matter of fact, the Congress focused on topics such as ‘Luxury and Fashion Leather World’, ‘Tannery of the Future’ and ‘Footwear and Leather Goods Global Perspective’, but it also gave great importance to the sustainability issue, releasing abstracts about ‘Leather Processing and Sustainability’, ‘Leather value chain and sustainability as the industry driver’ or ‘Sustainability through Standards with Integrity’ just to name some.
The Congress is the premier international event in the field of leather sector and had many leather professionals and leaders that presented technical speech and debate pressing global issues challenging the leather sector development. It was organized by Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Industry of Ethiopia and it was awarded to Ethiopia due to the efforts played by the Executive Director of ALLPI Professor Mwinyikione Mwinyihija, current president of International Council of Tanners (ICT). The one-day Congress program was introduced by Prof. Mekonnen Hailemariam, the adviser to the Executive director, who gave the overall profile of the event and what it means for Africa.
The presentations, discussions and deliberations of the Congress have undoubtedly provided valuable guidance as to how to address the increasing concerns among the peoples of the world with the rational utilization of renewable natural resources, and with the conservation of the environment from pollution.
The Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, location of both Congresses
The Congress was steered by the ALLPI Expert Team led by Professor Mekonnen Hailemariam, int the picture, together with 16 well-known scientists, researchers and professionals in the leather sector as moderators from across the different continents.
The prestigious keynote lecture of the Congress, the Heidemann Lecture, is delivered by Professor Anthony Covington, who has authored over 300 technical publications, and received the IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry in 2009, and the Alsop Award for Outstanding Scientific Contribution to the Leather Industry from the American Leather Chemists Association in 2011.
IULTCS 2021 Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry is given to Dr. Thirumalachari Ramasami who is known for his significant contributions to the chemistry of chromium as a scientist and leadership to the Indian leather sector as a technologist and to science as a civil servant. He authored more than 237 research publications, eight chapters in books, and numerous general articles. He holds more than 40 patents.