Standardization News

ASTM Global Cooperation Staff Meets United Nations Ambassadors

On July 28, ASTM International’s global cooperation staff met Ambassador Mathu Joyini, permanent representative of South Africa to the United Nations, and Mr. Bulelani Mandla, first secretary of the Mission.

Discussed were the supporting role of standards in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the MoU partnership ASTM has with the South African Bureau of Standards, now in its twentieth year. Ambassador Joyini recognized the crucial role standards play in our world, particularly in aspects of safety and construction in South Africa, and in achieving the SDGs.

Cendrowska also met distinguished Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, minister counsellor and deputy permanent representative of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United Nations, and Mr. Thanh Phan, Third Secretary of the Mission. 

Ambassador Nguyen is a former Vietnamese delegate to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which served as a great opportunity to discuss ASTM’s engagement in APEC economies, its status as a guest of the APEC Subcommittee on Standards and Conformance, and mutual engagement in the August APEC meetings in Seattle. 

Ambassador Nguyen shared Vietnam’s efforts to promote economic growth while leaving no constituency behind and achieving the SDGs. He expressed gratitude for the information shared about ASTM, the MoU program, and ASTM’s partnership with the the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ), in place since 2004.

Left to right: Emmanuel Escoto Gonzalez, global cooperation manager for engagement, ASTM; Ambassador Joyini; and Teresa J. Cendrowska, vice president of global cooperation, ASTM.

Left to right: Emmanuel Escoto Gonzalez, ASTM; Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, minister counsellor and deputy permanent representative of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United Nations; and Teresa J. Cendrowska, ASTM.

In August, ASTM International staff participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Seattle, Washington. During the event, Teresa Cendrowska, vice president of global cooperation, ASTM, conducted a workshop on reducing plastics pollution. Cendrowska also helped to facilitate breakout sessions that delved deeper into benefits and challenges of using standards as a resource to policy and regulations around plastic pollution. 

ASTM International has continued its tradition of supporting the West Conshohocken Summer Camp through its annual t-shirt design contest. In addition, this summer ASTM sponsored field trips for summer campers to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and to Valley Forge National Historical Park. At Valley Forge, campers were inducted as junior park rangers.