News

Press Release

Release Date: 05/10/02

Standards Week 2005

A national standards debate, a workshop on the use of Standards in Regulation as well as a television panel discussion on Standardization and Safety are among the activities planned for the observance of Standards Week 2005.

Standards Week, coordinated by the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards will run from October 10-14 under the theme Standards for a safer world”, in keeping with the international theme for World Standards Day 2005.  The week’s activities will highlight not only the importance of standardization, but more so the Bureau’s work in developing and implementing national standards and conformity assessment programmes with an overriding safety objective.

The Bureau is partnering with a number of agencies in the execution of Standards Week 2005. These include the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs, the Attorney General’s office and Radio St. Lucia.

The national standards debate hosted jointly by the Bureau and the Ministry of Education is one of the highlights for the week. Targeted at young persons the debate is expected to generate much discussion on the topic “The implementation of international standards is essential for the protection and development of vulnerable states like St. Lucia ”. Consolidated Foods Ltd is the main sponsor of this activity which is the first standards debate to be held on the island. Hibiscus Travel, Going Places Travel and Sandals Resorts are some of the other organizations providing sponsorship for the national standards debate.

Standards Week will close with a television broadcast of the message by the Minister for Commerce, Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs Honourable Philip J. Pierre. On the theme “Standards for a Safer World”.

Creating a safer Saint Lucia has always been at the heart of the work of the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards. The recent re-organization and re-structuring of the Institution was executed for exactly this purpose.  The Bureau’s Conformity Assessment Programmes (Import Monitoring, Market Surveillance, Certificate of Free Sale, Product Certification, Weights and Measures Verification) are the only local programmes designed to provide consumers with the assurance that products offered for trade meet minimum safety and quality standards.