ANSI Marks U.S. Celebration of International Accreditation Day

(ANSI: New York) -- June 9 marked the worldwide celebration of International Accreditation Day (IAD), an event launched in 2008 by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

Each year on June 9, IAF and ILAC invite their national representatives from around the world to mark the occasion with dedicated celebrations honoring the important role that accreditation plays in the global standards and conformity assessment community.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI [1]) has marked this occasion by announcing the winner of the first-ever U.S. Celebration of International Accreditation Day paper competition. ANSI launched the competition in February 2008, inviting all interested parties to submit papers that highlight the value of accreditation in the global marketplace. Many highly qualified entries were received, creating a strong competitive field.

Geoff Bilau, senior writer for the International Association for Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) Group [2], was awarded first place for his paper, “How Accreditation Could Have Prevented an Outbreak of SARS [3].” Bilau’s entry applied accreditation concepts to a real-life scenario of timely and worldwide concern, reflecting the spirit of the U.S. Celebration of International Accreditation Day in communicating the importance of third-party accreditation.

Bilau was awarded $1,000 for his winning submission, which was chosen by a jury of representatives from ANSI accreditation committees. 

Around the world, international specifiers, regulatory bodies, and stakeholders celebrated IAD through their own promotional events, seminars for industry and regulatory officials, and press campaigns. The theme for this year’s celebration was “competence,” and events highlighted the importance of accreditation in assuring technical and operational competence.

A number of major international organizations have recognized the value of IAD, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [4] (APEC), the World Health Organization [5] (WHO), the International Organization for Standardization [6] (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission [7] (IEC). Click here [8] to read testimonials of support from these groups. For more information on IAD 2009, see the IAF site [9] and the ILAC site [10].