Oct 01, 2005

Toronto, Canada, 26 October 2005--The standards executives and industry leaders from many of the world’s major trading partners gathered in Toronto today to attend the "Standardization Strategies: A World View" workshop. The event, co-sponsored by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and ASTM International, showcases the strategic role of standardization in today’s global marketplace.

Spanning the globe from China to North America, workshop presenters shared the principles of their national standardization programs with an audience of over 100 attendees. The impressive lineup of speakers revealed the national standards strategies of Canada, China, Europe, Japan, and the USA. The program provided a unique view into the standardization philosophies of five diverse trading partners.

"Standards are an important component of global trade," explains James A. Thomas, President of ASTM International. "Today’s workshop provides an opportunity to understand different standards strategies in various global regions. This dialogue reveals our common elements, explores opportunities for increased health and safety, and fosters greater awareness of standards, which are critical to economic success."

ASTM/CSA Collaboration

Building on its longstanding relationship with CSA, ASTM International organized the event in conjunction with the Canadian Standards Association. "Standardization Strategies: A World View" is third in a series of cosponsored workshops held in tandem with ASTM Board of Directors meetings in varied global locations. ASTM International held similar workshops at Board meetings in Mexico City, Mexico, and Berlin, Germany.

"Co-hosting this workshop further enables CSA to strengthen our relationship and collaboration with ASTM International, a recognized leader in standards development, and to demonstrate to the international community the impact of our standardization efforts on the global marketplace," said Pat Keindel, President, Standards, Canadian Standards Association.

Standards Delegation from China

Adding to the global perspective this week is the presence of a delegation of senior standards officials from China attending the ASTM Board meetings. Led by the executive leadership from the Standardization Administration of China (SAC), the delegation participated in the ASTM Board meetings, presented at the workshop, and visited CSA headquarters offices.

In addition to senior executives from SAC, standards officials from the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) and the Shanghai Institute of Standardization were also in Toronto for the ASTM meetings and discussions with CSA, which facilitated meetings between the Chinese visitors with Canadian ministries. Two interns from SAC and the CNIS, who are visiting ASTM Headquarters for a five-week internship, were also in Toronto for the CSA/ASTM events.

For more information on global outreach at ASTM International, contact Kitty Kono, Vice President of Global Cooperation, ASTM International (phone:+1 610/832-9687; kkono@astm.org).

Release #7245