Emerging technologies from machine learning to quantum information science are becoming increasingly prevalent in every industry, and standards developed in the proven, consensus-based system championed in the U.S. are essential in bolstering these technologies while safeguarding the health, security, and well-being of people around the world. The success and vitality of the U.S. standard model will be highlighted at this year’s U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day, centering on the theme “Sustaining the U.S. Standards Model and American Standards Leadership.”
Launched in 1970, the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day (WSD) is an annual event recognizing the importance of various stakeholder groups across the standards community, including business leaders, industry, academia, and government. This year’s event will be held on Thursday, October 13, as an in-person event in Washington, DC, administered by the International Code Council (ICC).
The event features a yearly theme relevant to the broader community and its priorities, and this year the standards community will celebrate the successes of the U.S. standards model. For more than a century, voluntary codes and standards created by non-profit standard development organizations (SDOs) have protected public health, safety, and security; constituted a backbone of commerce; provided the building blocks for innovation; and served as the basis for quality and interoperability. This is the result of one of the most successful public-private partnerships in history. America’s leadership is driven by non-governmental SDOs, harnessing private sector speed and flexibility to enable consensus-based and market driven standards that keep pace with technology, foster economic growth, and save government partners and taxpayers billions.
The U.S.’s unique SDO partnership must be both supported and protected, and SDO’s time and investments valued. This year’s theme draws attention to and supports this public-private partnership, which has ensured America’s continued standards development leadership on the global stage.
In addition to marking the annual theme, the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day includes the presentation of the Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award, as well as the winners of the WSD Paper Competition.
Sponsorship opportunities are now available. Learn more about sponsorship and additional details on the event at www.wsd-us.org.