World Standards Day 2025: Shared vision for a better world

CELEBRATING THE ROLE OF STANDARDS IN ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)

- By Ganiesha Jayamini De Silva

World Standards Day 2025 highlights how shared principles shape progress, connecting safety, sustainability, and innovation worldwide. As Sri Lanka marks the occasion, the focus turns to how standards unite nations, industries, and communities under a common goal: building a safer, more resilient, and sustainable future for all.

Every year on 14th October, people around the world celebrate World Standards Day, paying tribute to the experts, professionals, and institutions who dedicate their time and knowledge to developing standards that make life safer, simpler, and more connected.

This global event is jointly celebrated by members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and other international and national standards bodies. The aim of World Standards Day is to raise awareness about the importance of standardization to the global economy and to highlight its role in meeting the needs of businesses, industries, governments, regulators, and consumers.

The date 14 October was chosen to commemorate a meeting held in London in 1946, where 65 delegates from 25 countries gathered to discuss the future of international standardization. That historic event led to the creation of ISO, which officially came into existence in 1947 with 67 technical committees. By 1949, ISO had established its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland -where it continues to operate today, shaping the global standards landscape.

Across the world, national standards bodies mark World Standards Day with awareness campaigns and events. In Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) is the national standards body and ISO member since 1969 - joins the international community in celebrating this day on 14 October 2025.