BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 14th 2013 – The St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards of the Ministry of International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs joins with the International Standards Community in celebrating World Standards Day, today 14th October 2013. The theme for this year is "International Standards Ensure Positive Change".
World Standards Day is celebrated each year on 14 October to pay tribute to the efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who collaborate to develop voluntary international standards that facilitate trade, spread knowledge and disseminate technological advances.
The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) are the world’s three principal standards bodies and are committed to collaboration under the banner of the WSC (World Standards Cooperation).
Each year the heads of these three organizations sign a message outlining the World Standards Day theme. The 2013 message highlights how international standards ensure positive change by providing “cohesion to a myriad of national and regional standards; thereby harmonizing global best practices, eliminating technical barriers to trade, and fostering shared socio-economic advance.”
Standards set the minimum specifications and requirements for products and services, and therefore provide the framework upon which the desired quality and safety of products and services can be based.
Standards help consumers by: improving choice and access to goods and services; lowering cost; protecting health, safety and the environment; and making it easier to assess the quality and reliability of products and services.
As part of the activities for the week the St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards in conjunction with the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP) will be launching the Eastern Caribbean Energy Labeling project campaign to sensitize customers and retailers of electrical appliances about the purpose of energy labels and selected energy saving tips.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards was formally established by the Bureau of Standards Act, 1999, and is mandated to develop and implement national standards and adopt regional or international standards where necessary. Under the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement, implemented within the World Trade Organisation (WTO),the Bureau of Standards is designated as the Enquiry Point for exchange of information. The Bureau also holds the national standards of metrology (mass, volume, length, etc.) and is responsible for advising the Government on technical matters as they relate to health and safety of its consumers. Responsibilities also include food and water analyses, the verification of all scales, balances and other measuring devices within the Federation and facilitating development of local industry and commerce.
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