2009 IEC General Meeting is to take place in Tel Aviv

The 2009 IEC General Meeting is hosted
by the IEC National Committee of Israel

The 73rd IEC General Meeting will be held from 18 October to 22 October 2009 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hosted by the IEC National Committee of Israel, SII (the Standards Institution of Israel), it will feature meetings of 42 Technical Committees and Subcommittees (running from 11 October), as well as meetings of the IEC Conformity Assessment community.

As is customary, management meetings are to be held throughout the week, culminating in a Council Statutory Session and Open Session on Thursday 22 October.

The GM (General Meeting) provides the setting for a focused environment of meetings, allowing delegates to network with fellow experts, to give and gain an insight into best practices in their fields of technology and to be part of an exceptional group of specialists from around the world.

Registration can be completed online through the password-protected page http://meetings.iec.ch or via the IEC homepage. In order to secure hotel bookings, registrations should be submitted by 31July 2009, as after this date accommodation cannot be guaranteed.

This year, for the first time, the ISO/IEC JTC 1 (Joint Technical Committee on Information Technology) Plenary along with the JTC 1 SWG (Special Working Group) on the JTC 1 Directives will be held in conjunction with the GM. Holding the JTC 1 Plenary during the GM is particularly significant as various aspects of Information Technology are interlinked with the work of different TCs (Technical Committees) that are also meeting in Tel Aviv, including IEC TC 3: Information structures, documentation and graphical symbols, IEC TC 46: Cables, wires, waveguides, R.F. connectors, R.F. and microwave passive components and accessories, IEC TC 86: Fibre optics, and IEC TC 100: Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment, for example.

The meeting between JTC 1 and TC 100 will be aimed at avoiding overlaps of work because of converging technologies. Communication and coordination with ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) in nanotechnologies will also be facilitated since ISO TC 229: Nanotechnologies, will meet in parallel with IEC TC 113: Nanotechnology standardization for electrical and electronic products and systems. Also planned is a special workshop for newly industrializing countries addressing "Safe use of electrical energy in mining and in the chemical, oil and gas industries".

Full details, including timetable updates for technical, management and other meetings, can be found on the IEC 2009 GM Tel Aviv website, along with other useful information.

The chosen venue is of double significance. First, 2009 sees the city of Tel Aviv celebrating its centennial. Second, Israel has a reputation for being one of the top hi-tech centres in the world, a reputation achieved thanks to a solid infrastructure constructed over several decades. The bulk of Israel's electrotechnical stakeholders are in SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and start-ups.

The IEC 2009 GM is expected to highlight the prominent work achieved by the IEC's experts, offering them an opportunity to exchange interesting views on the most recent technologies. The last time an IEC GM was held in Israel was in 1966. It is evident that since then much has changed, both in the IEC and in Israel. It is hoped that the combination of history and technologies will offer the ingredients for a unique and successful General Meeting.

For any additional information, contact the IEC General Meeting Coordinator: Sophie Chardon.