World Accreditation Day(WAD) is annually observed across the globe on 9th June to promote the value of accreditation, a review process to determine if educational programs meet defined standards of quality.
The theme of World Accreditation Day 2023, observed on 9th June 2023, is “Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade”.
- The 2023 theme focuses on how accreditation supports the United Nations(UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 14, and 17.
Background:
i.The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation(ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) jointly established the World Accreditation Day (WAD) as a global initiative in 2007.
ii.The first ever World Accreditation Day was observed on 9th June 2008.
Significance WAD 2023:
i.The observance aims to promote the value of accreditation in the economy.
ii.The day also provides a platform to create awareness about the importance of accreditation related activities.
iii.The day enables the ILAC, IAF and their members to highlight the importance of accreditation in supporting the future of global trade.
Note:The WAD 2023 poster was created by Vivek Vardhan, accreditation officer for the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) of India, as the result of a competition run by ILAC and IAF.
International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation(ILAC):
i.ILAC, started as a conference in 1977 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
ii.It was established with an aim of developing international cooperation for facilitating trade by promotion of the acceptance of accredited test and calibration results
iii.More than 88,000 laboratories, around 14,000 inspection bodies, over 650 proficiency testing providers and 260 reference material producers were accredited by the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) Signatories in 2022.
iv.The current scope of the ILAC MRA includes accreditation of
- calibration laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025,
- testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025,
- medical testing facilities using ISO 15189,
- inspection bodies using ISO/IEC 17020,
- proficiency testing providers using ISO/IEC 17043 and
- reference material producers using ISO 17034.
Headquarters– Silverwater, New South Wales, Australia
ILAC Chair– Etty Feller (Israel)
