International Standards Organization
 | |
| Type: | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Industry: | International Standardization |
| Founded: | February 23, 1947 |
| Headquarters: | Geneva |
| Country: | Switzerland |
| Website: | www.iso.org |
| Key People | |
| Dr. Boris Aleshin, President Mr. Sadao Takeda, Vice-President Policy Mr. Jacob Holmblad, VP Technical Management Mr. Julien Pitton, Treasurer Mr. Rob Steele, Sec. General-CEO | |
'International Standards Organization (ISO) is a non-government organization composed of a network of national standards institute from 162 countries. ISO develops, publishes and holds the largest repository of international standards. The founders of the ISO derived the name of the organizatio from the greek word "isos" which means equal. English, French and Russian are the official languages used by ISO. Its headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.[1]
Historical Background[edit | edit source]
ISO was officially established on February 23, 1947. The establishment of the organization was a result of the meeting in London which ws attended by delegates from 25 countries. ISO was basically formed when the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA) and the United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC) combined.[2] Upon its establishment in 1947, a meeting in Paris was held and 67 ISO technical committees were recommended. During that time, the early members idea for international standardization was to base it from the existing standards and re-implement it nationally. The first general assembly of the ISO was held in Paris in 1949.[3] ISO's membership started to increase from developing countries within the next ten years. The International standards that was created in the 1950s to 60s were highly beneficial to developing countries because it offers a vast information about technology however, developing countries were unable to use these international standards because they don't have established industrial infrastructures, related technical components and adequate financial and technical resources.[4]