World Standards Day to be celebrated with spotlight on video technology

Each year, the day is celebrated in acknowledgement of the singular importance of standardisation to the world economy.

The theme of this year's World Standards Day is "Video Standards create a global stage".

A statement from the Corporate Affairs Directorate of GSA said the theme reflected the transformational innovation of video technology as an all-encompassing and global phenomenon.

The International Electro-technical Commission (IEC), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), commemorate the day with all stakeholders.

Video has also become more accessible, helping people worldwide to share their stories in vivid and moving pictures with instantaneous and almost global response and feedback.

These gains in both the sophistication and accessibility of video are built on International Standards.

In fact without video standards, the sharing of moments on social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat etc would have been impossible. Video standards have made our world a much better place and created millions of jobs worldwide.

The video compression algorithms, standardised in collaboration by the IEC, ISO and ITU, has been honoured with two Primetime Emmy Awards, recognising the centrality of standards to video technology and industry's ability in meeting rising demand for live video streaming, one of the most bandwidth-intensive applications running over global networks.

The GSA recognises the increasing use and demand for video technology in our Ghanaian context, and is working to collaborate with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), National Communications Authority (NCA), NAFTI, Gaming Commission, NCCE and other stakeholders to see how best video technology can be adapted for use in the country's development efforts.

The Director General of the GSA, Professor Alex Dodoo expressed optimism that the youth of Ghana would immerse themselves positively in these new technologies so as to obtain maximum benefit in the current Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He added "the Internet of Things" and the Industry 4.0 are the beginning of good things to happen to our youth. It is our job as GSA to provide a solid infrastructure in the form of world class standards to enable Ghanaian youth and businesses to gain the full advantage of Industry 4.0.

The Authority's mandate is to develop, publish and promote standards in the country. Its mission is to contribute towards the growth of industry, protect consumers and facilitate trade through standardisation, metrology and conformity assessment.