KOSHA launches a new international framework for prevention

The 1^st General Assembly of the ISSA Section for a Culture of Prevention held in Turkey

September 15, 2011

The 1^st General Assembly of the ISSA (International Social Security Association) for a Culture of Prevention, the 12^th International Section of the ISSA’s Special Commission on Prevention was held on September 12, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA; President: Hun-Ki Baek) led the launch of the new collaborative framework for the safety and health of workers.

With the launch of the new Section for a Culture of Prevention in ISSA, Korea ? the chair country ? will build a network of 43 professional safety and health organizations and related government bodies in countries around the world including China, France, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, UK, and the US, etc. The Section’s activities will focus on promoting a culture of prevention, through global network.

* ISSA: International Social Security Association

 - Founded in 1927, the ISSA has some 350 members from 150 countries. As a non-profit organization specializing in social security, the ISSA has the Special Commission on Prevention with 12 Sections including the recently established Section for a Culture of Prevention.

The newly established Section’s 1^st General Assembly was held during the 19^th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Istanbul, Turkey. The World Congress was a five-day event, which took place from the 11^th to 15^th of September.

For the past years, KOSHA has stressed the importance of a new Section in the ISSA, which promotes a culture of prevention for facilitating OSH activities across the globe. In June 2010, the bureau of ISSA approved the establishment of the 12^th Section, “Section for a Culture of Prevention.”

“The International Section of the ISSA for a Culture of Prevention is a new engine, which helps workers in countries around the world to work in safe and healthy conditions. To spread the Seoul Declaration adopted and signed by 46 tripartite representatives during the last World Congress in 2008, KOSHA will expand our cooperation and exchanges with many international organizations within the framework of the new Sections,” said President Hun-Ki Baek of KOSHA through his opening remarks at the 1^st General Assembly of the Section. 

                
                

Description: President Hun-Ki Baek of KOSHA (3^rd person from the left, front row) is posing for a picture with the members of the ISSA Section for a Culture of Prevention, after the 1^st General Assembly>