IIW Annual Report 2021

I have the duty and the honour to write this message in the IIW Annual Report as Acting President of IIW.

This has been an unprecedented year for IIW.

At this time, we are all still reeling from the loss of our President Mr. David Landon. His contribution to IIW has been outstanding, even up to his last days. We will be reminded of his achievements many times in the future as the entire IIW was influenced by his enthusiasm and energy. During the last year, the IIW Board of Directors and each of its two working groups (Governance, and Finances, Audit and Risks) met almost monthly. This allowed the IIW to progress a range of actions towards achieving our 2018-2023 Strategic Plan and although some actions still need to be performed, board members and our community of volunteers are working towards completion. In response to the pandemic, the IIW met once more online, in our second IIW Online Annual Assembly and the 74th Annual Assembly in our history. The success of the event demonstrated the strength of our community and the possibilities offered by technology in enabling the association to still function in these days of restrictions. Nevertheless, it is clear in anyone’s mind that online meetings cannot substitute meetings in person. For this reason, we are all looking forward to the 2022 IIW Annual Assembly in Tokyo, when we will celebrate our 75th anniversary; finally face-to-face. I take this opportunity to thank in advance IIW Member Societies the Japan Institute of Welding and the Japan Welding Engineering Society and all the members of the Local Organising Committee for all their work in preparing for this event. My personal invitation for you all is to plan to attend so you can feel again the strength of our friendship through welding. On the pure management side, IIW made further steps forward in optimizsation of resources to improve efficiency in processes and save costs. The incomes arising from the successful 2021 IIW Annual Assembly and the selling of the IIW journal Welding in the World resulted in a good financial result in 2020 and, similarly the forecast for the current year (2021) is looking quite positive. The Board of Directors continues its commitment to the reduction of costs for the IIW membership. In 2021 we are welcoming a new IIW Member Country represented by the Ghana Welding Bureau. Despite some loss of membership in the last years, different measures are now in place making IIW membership benefits more attractive, especially to developing countries. We look forward to adding new members in the future, increasing the global relevance of our organisation. Welding has been and remains a key to global sustainable development and the IIW is the tool to help any country in this direction. In the last two years, the pandemic affected the activities of the welding industry, associations, and related business worldwide. IIW is working to support and to offer perspectives for a positive future. In the last period of the current year, good signals were received form the global market. My wish for everyone is that this will not only bring us back to standard values, but also allow us all to reach higher levels of productivity and financial wellbeing.

Respectfully,

Sorin Keller IIW Acting President

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MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING PRESIDENT