La Isla Network (LIN) will be participating in an international conference focused on occupational heat stress. The conference will take place in Doha, Qatar from May 9-10. It will bring together government officials, policy experts, medical research doctors, and multilateral organizations and consultancies.
The International Conference on Occupational Heat Stress is co-organized by the Ministry of Labour of Qatar and the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO said that the conference will “promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences on the impact of heat stress on workers, present and future mitigation measures, as well as challenges and opportunities for the design and implementation of heat stress mitigation approaches.”
At the conference, LIN will be offering its expertise on how to protect workers in a changing climate through the development of systems that eliminate preventable occupational illnesses and injuries. At LIN we believe that it is paramount to highlight the health problems workers face, and to use that information to prompt private and public policy change. LIN’s CEO Jason Glaser will speak on this matter at the conference. Additionally, our organization partner Dr. Andreas Flouris will speak on the research undertaken in Qatar with colleagues Jason Lee Kai Wei and Vidhya Venugopal also contributing their expertise.
Since LIN and its partners raised awareness about the deteriorating health of migrant workers in Doha, we have aimed to bring together all stakeholders into a conversation about heat-related occupational illnesses and injuries. On November 3, 2022, Time published an article by journalist and LIN partner Aryn Baker, with supporting photos and film by LIN partners Ed Kashi and Tom Laffay.
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We are motivated by the plight of migrant workers. We are also hopeful that this assemblage of government officials, policy experts, doctors, and international organizations will contribute to an engaging two days of discussion. Not least, we see the possibility that could stem from this conference. It is a chance to lay the groundwork for the consistent implementation and support of common-sense worker protections. We believe that the ILO Conference can be a step in that direction if concrete action items and requisite investment are undertaken to develop a Center of Excellence in the region based on LIN’s model in Nicaragua through the Adelante Initiative. This is not a question of resources. With good will there is the potential to learn from what happened in Qatar leading up to the 2022 World Cup. The fruit is ripe for harvest. With the conference comes the opportunity to build an example of how to protect workers in extreme conditions so that responsible development is assured and economic growth benefits the workers who make it possible. We urge stakeholders to engage together in this mission.
To learn more about the conference, follow the ILO’s conference page, or direct comments to Marco Minocri, Communication Officer, ILO-Qatar at mi*****@il*.org.
