The first dialogue on "Transnationalism and Development: Learning from the Experience of Tommy Miah" was held at the British Council auditorium at the British Council auditorium, 5 Fuller Road, Dhaka, at 3:00 pm on Saturday, 4 February 2006 organised by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) of the University of Dhaka and the British Council with the support of the British High Commission.

The purpose of the dialogue was to share the experiences of a successful British Bangladeshis with the students which could facilitate them to come across the way of life to be self-reliant. Speakers at the dialogue stated that the country can gain a lot from its large pool of emigrant population. They stressed that the knowledge, skills and expertise that people gain overseas can also be linked with the development process of the country through innovative programmes and initiatives.

Dr. C R Abrar, coordinator, RMMRU welcomed the participants and briefed about RMMRU objective, activities.

The moderator of the dialogue session, Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui of Dhaka University, in her introductory statement observed that increased mobility in this age globalization are creating conditions for individuals to become transnationals and efforts are to be made to make maximum gain out of such condition. She gave importance for bridging the gap between the British Bangladeshis and the Bangladesh counterparts. Dr. Siddiqui also briefed about the objective and work plan of the project "Transnatinalism and Development".

The keynote presenter of the dialogue, entrepreneur and celebrity chef Tommy Miah, narrated his own experience of humble beginning to achieving success in many fields and summarized his autobiography. He said diligence and commitment to work, ambition, and liberality for all works are keys for success of his life. Miah said that there is a huge scope of skilled labour in catering and hospitality sectors both at home and abroad and urged young generation to seek newer avenues for employment in this fast changing world. He said more training centers should be created to impart skills on the youth. He urged about for the necessity of involvement of Government of the country to amplify the opportunity of vocational training in the field of catering and hospitality and also for the production of familiar local foods. He also answered the queries of the students in the open session.

Special guest Richard Sunderland, Deputy Director, the British Council thanked for organizing such dialogue and also for inviting him to the remarkable programme. He said that this sort of programme encourage the young generation to seek their way of life to be thrive.

In the concluding session moderator Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui thanked Mr. Tommy Miah for presenting an edify dialogue. She also expressed gratitude British High Commission for funding the Project as well as British Council for warm collaboration of the Programme. She also thanked the students for participating to the programme.

Among others Professor Mahmudur Rahman of Dhaka University, Mr. Rizwan Bin Farouk and Mrs. Rubina Faruq, participated in the discussion. More than a hundred students of Dhaka University and Tommy Miah’s Institute of Hospitality Management as well as NGO representatives participated in the dialogue.