The International Federation of Standards Users (IFAN) held the 52nd IFAN Members’ Assembly and associated meetings on October 20-22 in Milan, Italy, which was hosted by the Italian standards body UNI.

Xia Weijia (Vivian), Member of the IFAN Board and Director of International Standards Department of China Association for Standardization (CAS), was elected Vice-President of IFAN with a term of office from 2026 to 2028. It is the first time for a Chinese expert to take the position, which marks a further step of China’s participation in international standardization.

The IFAN workshop “Standards Education: A Strategic Priority” was held on October 21. Approximately 50 representatives including standards education experts, President of UNI, ISO Secretary-General, and IEC Secretary-General joined the workshop, and discussed the intrinsic driving forces, opportunities and best practices of standards education.

Xia Weijia introduced China’s efforts in standards education and popular science activities for teenagers at the workshop. The attendees recognized the importance of standards education for teenagers,and expressed their appreciation for the perse standards promotion activities for teenagers across China.

IFAN plays an important role in global standardization work. It gathers enterprises, professional associations, academia, certification institutions and government departments to form an international network, representing the common interests of standards users. IFAN works closely with ISO, IEC, CEN and other standards organizations to make sure that standards users’ voices are heard in the process of international standards development. Through research on users’ demands and workshops, IFAN supports standards development, and promotes standards implementation.

As a national member of IFAN since 2002, CAS has actively promoted the capacity of China’s standards users to adopt international standards and participate in international standardization activities.