The Sweet Smell of Success: ISO Networking 2003

2003-08-01

The intoxicating scent of thousands of tulips proved to be the perfect invitation for the 107 standardization community stakeholders who participated in the 2nd ISO Networking Conference.

With the tulip festival as a backdrop, various marketing, information and technology professionals gathered in Ottawa on May 15, 2003 to discuss marketing strategies and training in standardization and other related areas.

As Canada's member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) hosted the two-day conference entitled Networking in a New Information and Communications Environment, to generate standards-related discussions with the participants.

The SCC also sponsored members from four developing countries (Bolivia, Costa Rica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago), enabling them to experience the process of Canadian standardization first-hand, and interact with their international peers.

A myriad of presentations and social networking left a positive impression on the attendees. Throughout it all, the need to reach out to developing countries, extend ISO's practices and update its marketing strategy resonated loudly, making it clear that the organization has to keep in step with arising technologies to give its clientele access to convenient information resources.

Under this all-encompassing concept of new technology, the attendees gave input, and learned about how standards correlate with the topics of:

    * information storage and delivery
    * public relations
    * training/education
    * protection of intellectual property

Hugh Krentz, Chairman of the SCC, initiated activities by stressing the significance of innovation for ISO by saying, "...you are here...because you are excited by the possibilities technology presents for enhancing customer service and operational efficiencies."

A pre-conference workshop got the ball rolling by introducing registrants to the International Classification for Standards (ICS), a system for sorting standards and classifying them in libraries and other databases.

Day one featured an involved discussion on the limitless possibilities of the Internet era. The web, an inherent vacuum of information, has forced open the doors to communication and education. As many of the speakers expressed, using this vacuum to develop more efficient means of reaching both the standards-friendly and the standards-unfamiliar audience should be one of ISO's primary goals.

Neil Reeve, a representative of Shell (Netherlands) and Motonobu Kuroda of the Japanese Standards Association (JSA), discussed retrieval of standards information and other ways to help users gain insight on the inner workings of the ISO.

Keith Moyes, member of the British Standards Institution (BSI), and Bob Feghali of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) presented the pros and cons of free and paid standards.

One of the day-two speaking panels focused on training and education. Takaya Kawabe, a professor from the International Art and Technology Cooperation Organization, talked about the ISO 14000 Kids programme-a training tool designed to teach children about environmental management systems.

Other panelists took on the topics of e-learning (making information on standardization readily available via computer technology), intellectual property and journalism (developing friendly relations with media to get standards closer to the general public).

The assembly concluded with a one-hour brainstorming session during which the attendees prepared recommendations on raising quality and expanding the range of services provided by ISO.

The success of the conference was echoed in the participants' assessment of the events that took place. The quality of program, the opportunity to network with peers, and peripheral aspects such as food and accommodations received positive feedback. The stakeholders also recommended the topics in need of further discussion at the 2004 conference in Sydney, Australia:

    * free or fee standards
    * promotion of market standards
    * move from multiple national to globally impacting standards
    * conformity assessment

One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation made by ISO Secretary General, Alan Bryden, who noted that the involvement of developing countries as well as the use of responsible innovation will essentially boost the cause of global relevance-acceptance of uniform standards across borders. In keeping with ISO's mandate, this will improve the lives of consumers, customers, and other members of the standardization community.

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