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Conference Title “Kaizen” Workshop for Libya (JICA, WFP, Tunisia collaboration)
Dates February 27 – March 3, 2023 (Group 1) and March 6 – 9, 2023 (Group 2)
Organized by JICA Tunisia Office and WFP Libya Office (Note: In addition, with the cooperation of the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Industry)
Location Tunis, Tunisia
Main Participants
Yuki Amadera, Charge d’Affaires Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Japan in Libya
Shuhei Ueno, Director, JICA Tunisia Office
WFP Libya Office Deputy Representative Yasushi Misawa
Zuhayel Makhloufi, Head of the Management of the National Quality and Productivity Program (hereinafter translated as UGPQP), Ministry of Industry of Tunisia
Workshop participants: youth from microenterprises from eastern, western and southern Libya, representatives of three ministries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor, and Ministry of Local Government) and staff of NGOs related to WFP projects, about 40 people in total
Background and Objectives
In December 2021, the UNDP Libya Office planned a kaizen training program for Libyan companies, and JICA Tunisia and the Tunisian Ministry of Industry cooperated to realize the program. About a year later, there was a strong demand for the continuation of this training program, so the JICA Tunisia office consulted with the WFP Libya office and coordinated with the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, leading to this “Kaizen” workshop in collaboration with JICA, WFP, and Tunisia.
Contents
At the opening ceremony on the first day of the Group 1 workshop, Ambassador Tenji, Charge d’Affaires of Japan to Libya, Mr. Makhloufi, Director of the UGPQP Office, Mr. Misawa, Deputy Representative of WFP Libya, and Mr. Ueno, Director of JICA Tunisia, delivered opening remarks. Mr. Ueno stated that the workshop was based on the results of JICA’s long-standing cooperation with Tunisia in the field of kaizen, that many Tunisian companies had achieved productivity improvements through this cooperation, and that he hoped that such results would be extended to Libya through this workshop. He also expressed his hope that the workshop will help to expand the cooperation to Libya.
In the workshop, a lecturer from the Tunisian Ministry of Industry explained to the participants the concept and practice of 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke), Muri, Muda, Mura, and the bottom-up approach from Gemba, and encouraged participants to speak up and actively exchange opinions. A lively exchange of opinions took place, with participants encouraged to speak up.
In the morning of the third day, the participants were divided into four groups to visit Tunisian companies that are implementing kaizen. In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Gonzi, Tunisian Minister of Industry, visited the workshop site and greeted the participants, including Libyan government representatives, and the Minister himself spoke about the results of kaizen in Tunisia.
On the fifth and final day, many participants commented that kaizen affects not only their corporate activities but also their way of life (way of life) in the future. It seemed that the Japanese concept of kaizen, which aims for constant improvement, was firmly conveyed to the Libyan side through Tunisia. A similar workshop was held for the second group.
Related Links
Kaizen Training in December 2021
Local Press Coverage (English)
Local Press (French)
© Source JICA