ICOH 2015 Seoul Congress is going smoothly

KOSHA held an working-level meeting with the ICOH board members.

Feb. 13, 2014

KOSHA (headed by President Baek Hun-ki) held the 2nd Preparation Meeting for three days from Friday to Sunday (Feb. 7 to Feb 9) in Helsinki, Finland, to prepare for the International Congress on Occupational Health to be held in Seoul in 2015.

At the working-level meeting, KOSHA shared the progress since the 1st Preparation Meeting held in last March in Seoul. There were also in-depth discussions on the preparations in details for the success of the upcoming congress.

The meeting was attended by 12 participants in total including Dr. Kazutaka Kogi, ICOH President, 5 other board members, and Mr. Gye-wan Bae, Secretary General of the ICOH 2015 secretariat. Various items on the agenda for the success of the ICOH 2015 include the following:
- Selection of the topics and speakers for key-note  and semi-plenary sessions speeches
- Plans for the structure of the sessions and their management
- Extension of the early bird registration deadline to attract more participants

President Baek Hun-ki gave a speech during the 2014 Board Meeting in front of more than 100 members of the ICOH Board and the Scientific Committee from all around the world. President Baek emphasized that the ICOH 2015 secretariat is “making efforts to come up with programs so that the ICOH 2015 Seoul Congress will bridge the gap in the occupational safety and health field and take the OSH standards in the Asian region that are lagging behind to the next level.” Mr. Baek also vowed to do his utmost along with the International Commission on Occupational Health to make the upcoming congress a pivotal event for all the members of the global occupational safety and health community.

Dr. Kazutaka Kogi said in response, “I believe in the capacity of KOSHA, as it successfully held the 18^th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in 2008.” He also added, “I hope the upcoming congress will provide an opportunity for all the workers around the world to enjoy their right to work at healthy and safe workplaces.”

Since first held in 1906 in Milan, Italy, ICOH has been held in Europe for 20 times and in North America for 4 times. Korea is the third Asian country to host ICOH following Japan and Singapore.

KOSHA was selected as the host of the ICOH 2015 at the 29th Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2009. The 31st ICOH secretariat was officially handed over to KOSHA at the 30th ICOH in Cancun, Mexico, in 2012. KOSHA held the 1st Preparation Meeting with the ICOH board members in March 2013 and set the basic framework for the congress. KOSHA also organized the National Organizing Committee in May and the National Scientific Committee in October to provide a further foundation for the preparations.

The 31st ICOH will be held in Seoul for 6 days from May 31, 2015 to July 5, 2015. There will be academic programs including more than 150 workshops and symposiums and other interesting events such as exhibitions and poster sessions.