A new approach to IEC for developing countries

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A new approach to IEC for developing countries

• Ron Reimer
• Vice-President
• June 2002

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Agenda

• The WTO Challenge
• IEC electronic operations
• Full operation for nearly three years
• IEC Affiliate Country Programme
• First year of operation
• IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Office
• Official opening February 2001

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The Challenge. . .

• WTO TBT looks for ways to ensure effective
  participation of Members, and particularly of
  developing country Members in international
  standardization organizations activities.
• IEC has had stable membership (since 1906), but
  IEC membership criteria did not encourage
  developing countries to join

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. . .and the Solution

• IEC has a unique approach to enabling such
  participation - -
  
• IEC electronic operations
• Full operation for nearly three years
• IEC Affiliate Country Programme
• First year of operation
• IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Office
• Official opening February 2002

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Agenda

• The WTO Challenge
• IEC electronic operations
• Full operation for nearly three years
• IEC Affiliate Country Programme
• First year of operation
• IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Office
• Official opening February 2002

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Electronic operations

• IEC does its business electronically
• Standards work,
• Conformity assessment work, and
• Management.
• With emphasis on document exchange
• rather then only meeting attendance

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Electronic operations

• Internet meetings and discussion forums
• Electronic distribution
• Electronic voting
• Online standards for development and access
• Web and FTP sites for Technical Committees
• Web Site, Electronic library and Web Store

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Agenda

• The WTO Challenge
• IEC electronic operations
• Full operation for nearly three years
• IEC Affiliate Country Programme
• First year of operation
• IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Office
• Official opening February 2002

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IEC Affiliate Country Programme

• Launched in June 2001
• Aimed at all developing countries including newly
  industrializing countries
  
• Emphasis on using IEC International Standards and
  participating in technical work
  
• Programme conducted in electronic environment,
  with no need for costly travel

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IEC Affiliate Country Programme

• Guidance given on IECs technical structure, how
  to track work, and how to identify relevant IEC
  standards and TCs/SCs
  
• Encouraged to select one or two TCs/SCs to
  closely follow, whose work is relevant to
  Affiliates domestic technological needs
  
• Access to working documents and drafts for
  selected the TCs/SCs
  
• Means to start library of relevant standards

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IEC Affiliate Country Programme
54 country acceptances from 90 invitations
AFRICA Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Bur
undi Cameroon Comoros Congo Côte d'Ivoire Dji
bouti Eritrea Ethiopia Ghana Guinea Kenya Le
sotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali M
auritania Mauritius Mozambique
AFRICA (continued) Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwand
a Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Sudan Swazi
land Tanzania Togo Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
ASIA Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh Georgia Ir
aq Jordan Kazakhstan Lebanon
ASIA (continued) Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Ne
pal Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Yemen ASIA-PACIFIC
Brunei Darussalam Cambodia Fiji Lao Macau,
China Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Tonga A
MERICAS Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Belize Bo
livia Costa Rica Cuba -
AMERICAS (continued) Dominica Dominican Republ
ic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guy
ana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Nicaragua Panama
Paraguay Peru Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia
Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Venezuela EUROPE
Albania Andorra FYR of Macedonia Moldova
As at 2002-05-22
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IEC Affiliate Country Programme

• IEC Affiliate Country Forum
• Affiliates represented by a Leader (person, not a
  country)
  
• Identify work relevant to newly-industrializing
  nations
  
• Seek and present common position for the Forum
• Dedicated website to encourage networking
• Affiliate Country ability to participate in
  conformity assessment schemes
  
• Possibility to team an Affiliate with an IEC
  National Committee member according to technical
  needs, rather then just geographical proximity

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Affiliate Country Programme

• Leader appointed for Affiliate Country Forum
  (Gene Hutchinson, Botswana)
  
• Over 100 usernames / passwords have been issued
  for accessing general and specific TC/SC
  information
  
• Affiliates have started to create their specific
  IEC libraries in electronic format
  
• Newer Affiliates are selecting their TCs/SCs

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WTO on IEC Affiliate Country Prog.

• IEC Affiliate Country Programme responds to WTO
  TBT call for increased participation
  
• I welcome the creation of the IEC Affiliate
  Country Programme which could offer a means to
  increase participation of developing countries in
  the elaboration of IEC standards. Mike Moore

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Agenda

• The WTO Challenge
• IEC electronic operations
• Full operation for nearly three years
• IEC Affiliate Country Programme
• First year of operation
• IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Office
• Official opening February 2002

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Asia Pacific Regional Centre (IEC-APRC)

• Located in Singapore - Start-up operations from
  September 2001 official opening in February
  2002
  
• Focal point and resource in the region to
• promote awareness of the IEC in the region
• increase the use of IEC international standards
  and
  
• enhance participation of all countries in the
  region in the Commissions work
  
• APRC is improving communication with businesses,
  industries and governments

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Asia Pacific Regional Centre (IEC-APRC)

• The WTO on the IEC-APRC
• welcomes the creation of the IEC
  Asia-Pacific Regional Centre to enhance the
  participation in IEC work from countries in that
  region
• IEC Asia Pacific Regional Centre (IEC-APRC)2
  Bukit Merah Central,Podium Block Level
  5,Singapore 159835Tel [phone], Fax 65
  6278 7573Officer in Charge Dennis ChewEmail
  Dennis.Chew_at_iec-aprc.net, Web www.iec-aprc.net

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In the Americas

• Announced August 2001, Regional Centre for North
  America - ReCNA is for now only focused on
  providing IEC technical officer services in the
  region
• IEC Regional Centre for North America
• 1740 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite D
• Boxborough, MA 01719 U.S.A.
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Officer in Charge Tim Rotti,
• E-mail tro_at_iec.ch
• IEC is closely monitoring the Electrotechnical
  Cooperation of the Americas (ECA) initiative made
  May 2002 by the IEC National Committees in the
  Region

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A unique solution

• Answering WTOs challenge enabling
  participation of Members, and particularly of
  developing country Members in IEC via
  
• IEC electronic operations
• Extensive track record with electronic
  operations
  
• IEC Affiliate Country Programme
• Affiliate Country Programme which offers means of
  participation for ALL countries
  
• Utilizing electronic operations to reduce costs
  of participation
  
• IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Office
• A key resource for existing members of the IEC
• Encouraging new countries to participate in the
  IEC Family
  
• Serving especially the south-east Asia-Pacific
  area

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Thank you