The Annual Meeting of the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) was held earlier this month in Nouméa, New Caledonia. The event brought together standards officials from the 25 PASC member countries and representatives of ISO, IEC and the ITU for discussions on the PASC Strategic Plan, regional and international standards harmonisation and how PASC can support efforts to respond to today’s critical challenges, including climate change and its impacts.
The Annual Meeting was part of Standards Week in Nouméa that was held between 29 May – 2 June 2023. The week also included the annual meeting of the newly formed Pacific Islands Standards Committee (PISC), a Pacific Island country regional standards committee.
Holding these events in the same week allowed for joined-up sessions between the PASC and the PISC that focused on respective priorities and the importance of collaboration between the two organisations. The sessions concluded with a commitment to continue to work together to strengthen the standardisation in the Pacific region.
The PASC Annual Meeting provided a platform for participants to share views and expertise to support the region’s engagement in the international standardisation system and to promote harmonisation of standards across the region to advance economic, societal, and environmental well-being. The discussions focused on PASC’s future strategic directions and Strategic Plan to ensure that future work addresses items of greatest common interest to PASC.
The participants also discussed climate change and how international standardisation can play a role in mitigating its impacts. This included presentations from ISO and IEC on the international work that is being done in response to climate change and discussions on PASC regional engagement in these efforts. It also included workshops on climate change mitigation, adaption, and resilience, with a focus on coordinating regional action.
For more information on the PASC Annual Meeting, contact the PASC Secretariat at [email protected].
