Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland. (FP)

Message for World Standards Day from Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland. The theme is ‘Video standards create a global stage‘.

Each year on the 14th of October, the members of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), celebrate World Standards Day.

The recognition is a means of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of experts worldwide, who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as International Standards.

Similarly, the Government of Barbados and the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI), a member of ISO, celebrate the day and recognize the important role standards play in the development of our quality infrastructure and, indeed, our economy.

World Standards Day 2019 is themed “Video standards create a global stage” and is a timely theme, given the present emphasis the Barbados Government has placed on the importance of being a technologically ‘smart’ nation and how this would improve the lives of citizens.

Only this month, Smart Barbados Week – ‘A Digital Encounter’, led by our Prime Minister, The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, and delivered through the efforts of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST), took place on October 1 to 4 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC). Throughout the week implementation strategies were discussed in order to build the national consensus necessary for such an all-encompassing transformation effort.

It is not difficult to recognize that advances in video technology have changed the way the views of people are expressed in Barbados and indeed around the world.

Video imaging has completely changed the entertainment industry and advanced video technology has provided immediate and improved connections between friends and families, regardless of where they are in the world, and has supported the medical and educational sectors in a significant way.

Quoting from a joint message of the ISO, IEC and ITU this year: “The innovation of recent decades has driven a huge leap forward in video quality. And video has also become more accessible, helping people worldwide to share their stories in vivid, moving pictures. These gains in both the sophistication and accessibility of video are built on International Standards.”

The theme for World Standards Day 2019 is The theme is Video standards create a global stage. (Stock Photo)

I am convinced that the solution to the economic problems of Barbados lies, in part, in enhancing industrial and export activity.  This is only possible if the quality of Barbados’ goods and services is improved to meet international standards and remain cost competitive in the national and export markets.

This considered, the Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce (MSBEC), through efforts by the BNSI, has started the process of developing a National Quality Policy for Barbados, which is expected to aid in facilitating Barbados’ access to the global market and enhance the competitiveness of its goods and services.

This Quality Policy is expected to be based on the development of the current international trends, the local situation and the benefits from re-engineering the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) and the technical regulations regime.

The Policy is also anticipated to encourage the media to become more involved in the dissemination of information relative to standardization, metrology, testing, certification, accreditation, quality and improvement of productivity especially as they relate to exports.

As we join the world to celebrate World Standards Day, we encourage young Barbadian entrepreneurs who are Innovators, IT and video savvy, to expand their knowledge and investment in new video applications as we help to grow our markets.

Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce

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