The Americas Celebrate World Quality Day with a Call to Strengthen Quality Infrastructure as a Strategic Tool for Sustainable Development
More than 500 participants from across the Americas and around the world gathered virtually to commemorate World Quality Day 2025, in an event organized by the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) with the support of the Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA) and its three regional pillars: the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM), and IAAC itself.
Under the theme “Quality: Think Differently”, the webinar brought together international and regional leaders to reflect on the role of quality infrastructure in trade, competitiveness, and sustainable development — in a context marked by rapid technological change and global challenges.
Panel 1: Quality as a Public Policy for Economic Development
The first panel, moderated by Andrea Melo, President of IAAC, featured Giana Fran Rivera, Vice Minister of Industrial Development of the Dominican Republic, and Andrés Robalino, Vice Minister of Production and Industries of Ecuador.
Both highlighted their countries’ progress in consolidating their national quality systems — SIDOCAL in the Dominican Republic and SEI in Ecuador — emphasizing how quality has become both a State policy and a strategic tool for productivity and public trust.
“In the Dominican Republic, quality is a fundamental right enshrined in our Constitution. SIDOCAL brings together the public and private sectors under a vision of consensus and transparency,” stated Vice Minister Fran Rivera.
“The challenge is to consolidate a cultural shift toward quality, ensuring safe and competitive products,” added Vice Minister Robalino.
Panel 2: The Global Vision of Quality Infrastructure
Moderated by Warren Merkel, IAAC Vice President, this session brought together three global leaders:
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Etty Feller, President of ILAC,
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Cristina Draghici, Director of Conformity Assessment and Consumer Matters at ISO/CASCO, and
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Ana Cipionka, Director of International Liaison at the BIPM.
The experts agreed that the three pillars of quality — standardization, metrology, and accreditation — form a global technical foundation that ensures trust in markets, consumer safety, and the sustainability of international trade.
“The upcoming Global Accreditation Cooperation (GAC), merging ILAC and IAF, will serve as a single global platform for accreditation recognition,” said Feller.
“CASCO standards are essential to maintain consistency across the global conformity assessment system,” noted Draghici.
Cipionka emphasized: “Metrology is the invisible backbone of global trust — without comparable measurements, there can be no fair trade or scientific progress.”
Panel 3: Regional Synergies in the Americas
Moderated by María Isabel López, ILAC Vice President, this panel brought together the leaders of the three regional organizations that make up QICA:
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Mauricio Céspedes, President of COPANT,
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Andrea Melo, President of IAAC, and
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Javier Arias, President of SIM.
The three leaders agreed on the importance of regional coordination to strengthen quality infrastructure, promote integration across the Americas, and address emerging challenges such as circular economy and digital transformation.
“COPANT promotes standardization as a driver of competitiveness and regional cooperation,” stated Céspedes.
“IAAC works to make accreditation a bridge of trust that connects markets and advances sustainability,” said Melo.
Arias added: “The future of quality depends on bringing measurement science closer to industry, academia, and citizens.”
