IEC President Jo Cops said that he had preferred to hold the meeting in person but that “evolving circumstances, however, have forced us to transform this year’s IEC General Meeting into a scaled-down, virtual event”.
Cops did not go into the details of why the event had been scaled-down and moved online.
However, he added: “Throughout our history, we have actively engaged a diverse array of stakeholders in the development of standards, ensuring they address real-world needs, uphold ethical principles and champion human rights.
“The IEC is driven by a global community of experts and interacts with a broad spectrum of stakeholders from society, industry, academia and government”.
The fully virtual event, is being held from October 19 to November 2, bringing together 1,770 participants to discuss the importance of international standards and conformity assessment in the rapidly evolving technological landscape.
The agenda for the 87th IEC General Meeting includes a series of virtual management meetings, including those of the IEC Board, Standardization Management Board, Conformity Assessment Board, and the General Assembly. Additionally, there will be meetings of the IEC Affiliate Countries and Young Professionals, among others.
According to the IEC, one of the highlights is the Young Professionals workshop, which features an interactive "Live from the lab" seminar with experts from IEC Technical Committee 106, along with young professionals working in cutting-edge areas like 5G, IoT, and 6G.