The confidence in our lives is our daily routine and our regular activities in all aspects of life. There are significant and systemic issues that require evaluations and especially the implementation of changes.

One recent and very significant change for ILAC, was to farewell the previous Secretariat at the end of 2023.  The staff, led by former Secretary Annette Dever, and Senior Coordinator Sharon Kelly, worked with us for many years, with professional efficiency and unfailing pleasantness.

I would also like to welcome, and to express my special appreciation to the members of the new ILAC Secretariat who are involved in bringing professional and stable continuity to ILAC.

It was good that we met face to face in November 2023. There is no doubt that these meetings speed up processes. As agreed, once a year we will meet virtually (2024 mid-year meetings) and then autumn meetings and ILAC GA meeting will take place face to face.  This year they are scheduled for the period 1 – 10 October, in Berlin. Further details will be circulated to members and interested parties as they become available.

There are still many significant issues to resolve, before we can complete the process of establishing one international organization dealing with accreditation and certification. We need to make the necessary changes within the legal requirements for the upcoming registration of the new organization in New Zealand, The latest round of comments by members on the draft GLOBAC Constitution and General Rules will be thoroughly reviewed and then forwarded to the Steering Committee overseeing the project and the joint IAF and ILAC Executive Committee for evaluation. Our goal is to vote on the revised drafts of the main documents prior to the Joint IAF/ILAC General Assembly in Berlin.

We who volunteer to take part in the management of the organization, maintain direct contact and active participation with the international organizations with which we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. To this end, in the past few months I have re-signed the existing MoU between ILAC, IAF and OIML. A new MoU with International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) is being finalized, to formalize our longstanding relationship.

In conclusion, as we approach World Accreditation Day (9 June, 2024) we as ILAC members can feel positive that by embracing the formation of the new organization we are indeed “Empowering Tomorrow and Shaping the Future” to ensure an improvement in efficiency, development and increased exposure of our activity worldwide by professional people, for the benefit of international recognition of accreditation.