Every year, October 14th is celebrated around the world as Standards Day, or World Standards Day, a — international date designed to draw people's attention to the importance of action related to the creation of common standards and to recognize the contributions of tens of thousands of professionals who devote their lives and professional skills to responsible and necessary work.
On this day in 1946, a conference of national standards organizations opened in London. 25 countries, including the USSR, were represented by 65 delegates. The result of their work was the decision to create the International Organization for Standardization, ISO — International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
In 1970, ISO President Mr. Faruk Sunter (Turkey) proposed celebrating World Standards Day on October 14 in order to emphasize the importance of standardization for the entire global economy.
Standardization — establishment and application of rules to streamline activities in a particular area for the benefit and participation of all stakeholders, in particular to achieve overall optimal savings while meeting functional and safety conditions.
The objects of standardization are specific products, norms, requirements, methods, terms, designations, etc., with the prospect of repeated use, used in science, technology, industrial and agricultural production, construction, transport, culture, healthcare and other spheres of the national economy, as well as in international trade.
Standardization significantly affects the pace of development and level of production. Based on the latest advances in science, technology and practical experience, standardization largely not only determines the level of production achieved, but is also one of the incentives for the progress of science and technology.
Therefore, the celebration of the Day every year is dedicated to a specific topic, which is chosen jointly by representatives of all three global organizations: the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC and the International Telecommunication Union, ITU.
For example, traditional events (conferences, exhibitions, seminars, radio and television programs, etc.) held as part of the Day over the years were devoted to topics such as: «Standards and everyday life», «International standards for peace and prosperity», «Global standards for the global information society», «Standards: big benefits for small businesses», «Intelligent and sustainable buildings», «Addressing climate change through standards», «Thanks to standards, the world becomes accessible to everyone», «Standards provide equal chances of success», «Standards — is the language spoken by the whole world», «Standards create trust», «International standards and the fourth industrial revolution», «Protection of the planet using standards», «Standards for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals», etc.