From the President’s desk

Dear Members,

On October 19th the Governing Board of UILI had its fall meeting in Lisbon; it was organized thanks to the kindness and collaboration of RELACRE, Association of Accredited laboratories of Portugal.
At this meeting the integration of RELACRE in UILI was approved.

Times change and our Association, UILI, in order to become stronger and better in defending the laboratory business must become more global. We recently received requests from laboratories to join UILI; according to our constitution these laboratories cannot be accepted because our Constitution does not allow it. The Board has decided to study changes in our Constitution in order to broaden the spectrum of laboratories which can be part of our worldwide Association. Changes to this situation should be presented to the General Assembly for review in 2013.

To meet today's demands for conformity assessment of products and in order to facilitate the free movement of goods between states, widely accepted international standards are essential. Active participation in the development of laws and national and international Standards affecting their activities, is essential in order to protect laboratory business.
The most effective way to influence is through the Associations of Laboratories, such as UILI that serve as reference sector partners to convey the opinions to the various organizations where standards are developed, ISO / CASCO, CEN-CENELEC ... ILAC, EURACHEM.

A stronger UILI would have greater influence on International Forums and Standardization committees to bring the voice of laboratories and defend their business. In order for UILI to take its place internationally, we must make an effort to project its image and seek alliances with other associations.

The Globalization, the need for stronger associations and the economic crisis has lead UILI to take actions better suited for the present time, such as, optimization of resources, and partnering with other Associations with similar interests. UILI has moved in this direction by having teleconference call board meetings. UILI is presently negotiating a MOU with EUROLAB.