Francisco de Santos, President of the Couromoda Fair, which is helping to organise both events, opened the session with Abdala Jamil Abdala, President of Francal. De Santos stated how important it is to have two congresses with close themes taking place at the same time in Brazil. ‘We will have international leaders, large foreign groups and specialists. We have to show them that leather and footwear are doing great and have a great future in Brazil’, he said. Abdala said how proud the country is to receive both events in November.

Wolfgang Goerlich, president of International Council of Tanners (ICT) and Executive President of CICB, said that the World Leather Congress acquires an extra importance as it is held, on the very same week and at the same venue as the World Footwear Congress. ‘There won’t be anything similar taking place for a long time. The fact that the World Leather Congress will be held in conjunction with the World Footwear Congress turns this double event into an unprecedented and unique occurrence’, he said.

World Leather Congress

Present and Future

The main theme of the WLC will be ‘Present and Future’, the World Leather Congress will bring together specialists from all sectors of the leather chain chain to Rio de Janeiro. It is an official event of The International Council of Tanners (ICT) and will be jointly organised by the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB) and Couromoda Trade Fairs. The World Leather Congress will follow the World Footwear Congress, an official event of the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry.
All the panels and activities of the congress were planned based on the leather business issues, dealing with the present situation and what the sector may expect in the future of leather for the footwear, automotive and luxury product sectors. Over 30 experts (who all play an important role in the worldwide leather marketing chain in more than 20 countries) will be discussing the challenges and opportunities for the leather industry. Around 300 delegates are expected to attend.
The official language of the event is English with simultaneous translation into Portuguese.