IIW History 1948-1958

- 20 -

the two Councils. In practice, the General Secretariat shares with the Scientific and Technical Secretariat in the translation of all documents, including the re– ports of the Commissions and material distributed for publication by the mem– ber societies. Though the work of the Commissions and Sub-Commissions continues through– out the year, it is through its Annual Assemblies that the activity of the Institute as a whole is organised. On the invitation of different national delegations, these Assemblies have so far been held in a different country each year; they last for a week and, in the course of ten years, the standard programme has undergone many adjust– n1ents. The constituent elements are always two meetings of the Executive Council, two meetings of the Governing Council and meetings of all the Com– missions, organised in two groups, A and B . Each Commission normally meets daily in the morning or afternoon over four clays; this arrangement makes it possible for the Commissions to approve at each daily session the minutes of the previous clay's meeting, these having been prepared in the interim by a Drafting Committee composed of rnembers of the Commissions. In addition to the meetings of the different constituent bodies of the Instit– ute, the Annual Assemblies may, and normally do, include : a Public Session for the presentation and discussion of technical papers on a theme determined by the Executive Council between two years and eighteen months in advance (r) ; technical film shows, the films for which are lent from different member countries, an exhibition of publications on welding, constituted by the permanent collec– tion of the IlvV,to which is annually added welding literature which has appeared in the different member countries since the previous year's exhibition. These latter items need not, under the constitution, be included in the programmes of Annual Assemblies, but they have been added to them over the years with the result that the programmes of Assemblies have become increas– ingly elaborate. These programmes are formulated in consultation between the governing bodies of the Institute and the member societies which are acting as host and they normally include provision for appropriate organisations in the host country to offer hospitality to delegates. The increasing importance of IIW has naturally been reflected in an increased attendance at Annual Assemblies, as the following table will show : - List of Annual Assemblies with approximate number of t hose participating.

1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1 957

Brussels

III 130 180 307 276 270 470 535 503 493

Delft Paris

London and Oxford

Goteborg

Copenhagen

Florence Zurich Madrid Essen

Most of the host countries have, in recent years, arranged for a series of tours, p artly industrial and partly historical and artistic, in the week following the Annual Assembly. The number taking part in these tours is naturally smaller than at the Assembly itself.

(1) See Chapter V.