IIW White Paper

10.4 Long-term strategic agenda IIW will continue its overall objective of enhancing the science and technology of welding and joining as well as enhancing the competitiveness of industries by generating new knowledge and disseminating it for innovative applications. IIW will continue to gather welding and joining societies and experts world-wide and provide strategic guidance for emerging needs and challenges by integrating scientific knowledge and new technologies. Each IIW Annual Assembly and Working Unit activities should continue to develop capacities to gather new knowledge and technologies while providing expert platforms to generate high added-value welded products benefiting from its different disciplines. A major issue will be to identify and integrate innovation and research activities in member countries while enhancing the dialogue with industries, in particular with SMEs, and with society at large. This has to be complemented by focused activities aimed at education, and skills development of young welding personel, engineers and scientists.

10.4.1 Essential infrastructure and resources IIW recognises the vital importance of infrastructure and the need to maintain and repair aging equipment and the need for long life new infrastructure e.g. desalination plants.

Hence IIW will encourage members and others to report and to exchange experiences (good and bad) to ensure global improvement (e.g. current selection of stainless steel weldments in a marine atmosphere).

Thus all will gain – Note that infrastructure covers most of the plant dealt within Section 9 including that for food, water, shelter and clothes.

10.4.2 Laws and government IIW members and all will assist governments and law makers in framing and upgrading laws and their implementation e.g. OHS, Environment, Trade, labour to ensure they are optimum for their particular country (or state) and preferably globally. IIW supports in principle the actions in Section 7.4. 10.5 Human Factors IIW, in acknowledging that virtually all progress and failures are attributable to humans, will gradually develop and issue further global welding comments and, guidance notes on various issues such as: honesty discrimination ethics conflict of interest fair play

racism sexism bullying corruption

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Through Optimum Use and Innovation of Welding and Joining Technologies

Improving Global Quality of Life