Seoul, Korea, July 18, 2008
Read about the who, what, where, when and why of this year’s World Congress on Safety and Health in Seoul, Korea…
The World Congress on Safety and Health at Work is the world's largest international event related to occupational safety and health. Its aim is to contribute to the prevention of occupational accidents and the protection of workers' health through the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences on new technologies related to safety at work, on preventing occupational diseases, and on safety and health cooperative projects.
Held every three years, the World Congress brings together several thousand key leaders and influencers of workplace safety policy from industry, government and labor who present and discuss emerging safety research, trends, best practices and innovations in the workplace.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) were organizers of this year’s event in Seoul, Korea. Over 4000 representatives from more than 100 countries attended the event from June 29 through July 2, which focused on the theme, “Safety and Health at Work: A Societal Responsibility”.
The World Congress is organized to address the current state of safety in the world of work and provide a major platform for the development of knowledge, strategic and practical ideas that can immediately be put into use. Participants in Seoul focused on key issues in risk management, including the impact of the informal economy and migration on work safety; action for the elimination of asbestos-related risks; the potential risk of nanotechnologies; gender differences in hazardous industries; the improvement of work environments using ergonomics; HIV/AIDS and the 
world of work; and a wide range of other topics.
The World Congress followed a high-level Safety and Health Summit involving 50 decision-makers from around the world, including DuPont, which adopted an unprecedented Declaration on Safety and Health at Work. It is seen as a major new blueprint for constructing a global culture of safety and health at work.
