Edward Mmatli
Marketing and Communications Committee Chair, SADCA

The Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Accreditation (SADCA) held an inaugural regional World Accreditation Day (WAD) celebration virtually on June 9^th 2022 under the theme: Accreditation: Sustainability in Economic Growth and the Environment. The theme highlights how accreditation supports nine of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the provision of a trusted platform for defining, developing and verifying requirements for products and services while helping to ensure and demonstrate that products and services meet specified requirements.

The SADCA regional WAD workshop was attended by more than 170 participants from various backgrounds including the public and private sectors, SADCA members, conformity assessment bodies, and several associations within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

In his capacity as the SADCA Marketing and Communications Committee (MCC) Chair and the Master of Ceremonies for the event, Mr. Edward Mmatli introduced the presenters, while the SADCA Chair, Mr. Chankar Bheekhun, gave the welcome remarks.

The following presentations were given during the workshop:

• Benefits and importance of the SADCA Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) by Mr. Xavier Mugari, SADCA MCC Vice-Chair;
• Accreditation and environmental sustainability by Mr. Shadrack Phophi, SANAS Accreditation Manager: Testing Laboratories & Good Laboratory Practice/Good Clinical Practice;
• Accreditation: A route to protect the environment by ensuring compliance with standards by Ms. Pinkie Malebe, SADCAS Technical Manager;
• How accreditation has ensured sustainable economic growth and environment in Mauritius over the years by Mr. Robin Gopee, MAURITAS Director and Ms. Cheeshta Matadeen-Domum, MAURITAS Assistant Accreditation Manager; and
• Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) by Mr. John Ndalamo, SANAS Accreditation Manager.

Presentations were followed by a screening of a video produced by ILAC and IAF entitled, “Accreditation: Sustainability in Economic Growth and the Environment”.

The audience posted comments and questions which were promptly addressed by the organisers and presenters, making for an interactive and engaging webinar experience. Ms. Tshenolo Molamu, SADCA MCC Vice Chair, gave the closing remarks. Various WAD promotional materials that were developed by ILAC and IAF were utilised during the preparation of the event. It is hoped that following the success of this regional celebration, SADCA will continue to organise a regional WAD event in addition to the celebrations that are expected to be held at the national level.

More information about SADCA is available on the SADCA website.