SMIIC Forum 2012 was held in Antalya, Republic of Turkey during 08-09 November 2012.
Aiming at functioning as a platform to bring experts and professionals from the fields of Standardisation, Accreditation and Metrology together, the SMIIC Forum 2012 gave participants the opportunity to discuss the current situation of these fields in the OIC Member Countries and at the international level. Over 150 attendees from 35 countries including the National Standardisation Bodies (NSB) and relevant national organisations of member countries, and international organisations comprising the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC), Standardisation Organisation for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GSO), International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), OIC General Secretariat, COMCEC, SESRIC, and ICDT participated in the Forum.
SMIIC FORUM 2012 SESSIONS
After the 5th BOD meeting and Technical Committees meeting on 06-07 November 2012, the next two days (08-09 November 2012) was followed by the SMIIC Forum 2012. The Forum was opened with the recitation of some verses from the Holy Quran by Konyaaltı Lütfullah Mosque Imam Ramadan Tıraş.
The inaugural session continued with the opening speech of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SMIIC and President of the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE), Mr. Hulusi Şentürk. The Chairman stated in his speech that during the two days of the Forum the participants will exchange views and opinions concerning standardization, metrology and accreditation. Stressing the vital role of standardization in economic development through facilitation of international trade, the Chairman also pointed out that standardization enables equality in competition, productivity in manufacturing, convenience in communication between producers and consumers and access to markets.
The session continued with the message of the Minister of Development, H.E. Dr. Cevdet Yılmaz, followed by a speech from Mr. Metin Eker, General Director of the COMCEC Coordination Office. Mr. Eker mentioned in his speech that the number of member countries of SMIIC has increased to 20 after the approval of the membership application of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Lebanon and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Highlighting the necessity of cooperation among the OIC Member Countries to remove trade barriers and economic difficulties, Mr. Eker also touched upon the significant role of SMIIC in harmonizing and setting common standards for Islamic countries.
Mr. Gholam Hussein Darzi the Director of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) gave an introduction of OIC and current relevant focus areas and activities. He also explained the aims, history and establishment of SMIIC.
A Brief introduction of SMIIC was given by Emel Gönç, General Secretariat and the inaugural session ended with a short SMIIC video. The Forum continued with working session 1.
Working Session 1:
Topic: Standards, the International picture and the importance of standards in our daily lives, for a countries economy, sustainable development etc. and Trade.
Delegates listened to speeches and presentations from the honorary speakers:
- Mr. Rob Steele, Secretary General ISO (International Organization for Standardization),
- Mr. James E. Matthews, Vice-President IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission),
- Mr. Tore Bloch Trondvold, President-Elect CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization),
- Mr. Nabil A. Molla, Secretary General GSO (Standardization Organization for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf),
- Mr. Mehmet Cömert, Director General, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Turkey,
- Dr. Saad Al-Kasabi, Governor SASO (Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization)
- Mr. Mohammad Saleh Badri, acting Director ESMA (The Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology)
- Mr. Ramazan Usta, Head of Standards Preparation Department, TSE (Turkish Standards Institution) ,
The moderator was Assoc. Prof. Saim Kayadibi from IIUM (International Islamic University Malaysia).
The distinguished speakers gave an introduction of their organization and outlined the significance of standards from both international and national perspectives, emphasized the role of standardization and accreditation for a sustainable economy, whilst stressing the role that SMIIC plays in bringing together different stakeholders to reach consensus for the harmonization of standards.
The Forum proceeded further in the afternoon with working session 2.
Working Session 2:
The topic dealt with in this session was as follows:
Standards how they are made:
- How are standards formed internationally and nationally?
- How are standards adapted and implemented?
This topic was dealt with by speeches and presentations from the honorary speakers:
- Mr. James E. Mathews, Vice-President, IEC (International Electrotechnical Commision),
- Mr. Tore Bloch Tronvold, President-Elect CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization),
- Mr. Hüseyin Öztürk, Director TSE (Turkish Standards Institution) International Standards Department.
This session gave the delegates an opportunity to dwell into the formation of standards both internationally and nationally. The guest speakers gave excellent presentations on explaining the processes involved. The issue of adoption and implementation of international and regional standards nationally was explained.
Second day of the Forum, allocated to Metrology and accreditation commenced with working session 3.
Working Session 3:
The topic for working session 3 was:
- Metrology at the international, Regional and national level
- Importance of Metrology in our daily lives, for a countries economy, sustainable development and trade.
Under the moderation of Dr. Fatih Üstüner, Director of UME (the National Metrology Institute) Turkey this topic was explained by the following distinguished speakers:
- Dr. Sinan Fank, Mechanical Group Coordinator UME,
- Dr. Enver Sadıkoğlu, Quality Manager EURAMET (European Association of National Metrology Institutes) UME Turkey ,
- Dr. Dae-Im Kang, President, KRISS (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science),
- Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohamed, Head/Principal Metrologist NML SIRIM (National Metrology Laboratory) Malaysia,
- Mr. Fawaz Allabadi Executive Director JNMI (Jordan National Metrology Institute),
- Prof. Adel B. Shehat, President, NIS (National Institute for Standards) Egypt,
- Mr. Zijad Dzemi, General Manager, IMBIH (Institute of Metrology of Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Working Session 4:
Topic:
- Accreditation at the International, Regional and National levels,
- SMIIC Accreditation Committee.
Working Session 4 was moderated by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Tayar, Veterinary Faculty Uludağ University. The topic was explained by the prominent speakers listed below from International, National Accreditation organizations and the Chairman of the SMIIC Accreditation Committee TURKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency):
- Ms. Merih Malmqvist Nilsson, Vice-Chair ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation),
- Mr. Irfan Aksoy, Acting Secretary General TURKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency),
- Mr. Heru Suseno, Manager for Accreditation KAN (National Accreditation Committee Indonesia).
Working Session 5:
The final working session was on the important topic of Halal Standards Accreditation Mechanism and series of OIC/SMIIC Halal Standards. The session was moderated by Prof. M. Imtiaz Hossain, Vice-Chancellor, University of Technology (IUT) OIC.
The distinguished speakers were:
- Assoc. Prof. Saim Kayadibi, IIUM,
- Mr. Salih Yüksel, Technical Chief, TURKAK,
- Dr. Muhlis Akar, member of DİYK (Higher Council of the Religious Affairs of Turkey), DİYANET(Presidency of Religious Affairs), Republic of Turkey,
- Prof. Mustafa Tayar, Veterinary Faculty, Uludağ University,
- Mr. Khawar Najeeb Awan, Director General, PNAC (Pakistan National Accreditation Council).
The prominent speakers gave very different ideas and prospective of the Halal Certification process ad-dressing the Halal Certification process from different angles. Dr. Muhlis Akar explained the issues faced whilst using the OIC/SMIIC Halal Standards. Whilst Prof. Dr. Mustafa Tayar addressed hygiene, the importance of the word “TAYYİB” and its application.
The Forum ended with a closing speech from the General Secretariat.
