27-04-2004
Future directions

Nadia Boschi, an address from ISIAQ President

Dear Colleagues,
As the incoming President of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) I write to share with you some observations on the Society, and on the challenges and opportunities that we now face. Before doing so let me underline how honored I am by the opportunity to serve as ISIAQ President and by the level of trust that you have placed in me. I plan to do my best to ensure that it has been well placed.
I first participated in an ISIAQ activity in 1991 and my involvement with the Society has grown constantly, since. As my own interest has grown I have had an opportunity first hand to witness the level of commitment and volunteer work done by ISIAQ' members. We are a very special organization whose members truly take responsibility for their Society's life.
I believe principles do not change much over time because they express basic values. That is, times change, but values remain. I fully intend to respect and follow the values set forth by ISIAQ's founding members as I continue to serve this Society and I expect our Board of Directors (BoD) will do so as well.
In the past few years, we all have observed and participated in the Society going through financial and administrative restructuring and becoming stronger and more technologically in tune with today's way of operating. We have seen new Chapters established, new policies developed, new task forces formed, and new alliances forged. Surely, the tools to implement our shared principles are ready. For this, we must acknowledge the excellent work done by my predecessors and colleagues serving on the previous BoDs and thank them for leaving us a Society in such good standing.
During the 3 years of my term I propose to focus on building an even more vigorous network of relationships with private and public institutions, while continuing to establish new alliances with those who share our principles and our interests in the indoor environment. By doing so I hope to make ISIAQ into an even more visible player in our areas of interest. Beyond this broad aspiration, I can outline a number of specific initiatives that I believe merit Board and broader Society consideration.
First, I would like to suggest that we develop a form of organizational-governance that engages more fully the talents of all of our BoD members. I hope to work with the Board to exercise a higher degree of responsibility within policy, research and practice. I would like the Board to work closely too with Chapters' chairs and Task Force' leaders where appropriate to craft and to oversee specific initiatives.
I fully support the essential scientific character of ISIAQ as the foundation on which we should develop an additional array of professional and outreach programs aimed at strengthening our financial stability. The Society's scientific foundations continue to be strong and one visible sign of that fact is the growing impact factor of our journal. In my view, we would be advantaged particularly by developing an even closer relationship with the International Academy of Indoor Air Sciences.
Second, I think we should continue to seek, develop and, strengthen our relationships with professional organizations (e.g, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, SCANVAC, REHVA, etc), directly as international body, and through our local Chapters. I believe that our various Task Force' reports and the work of the National Chapters is crucial in translating our scientific knowledge into practical knowledge in the various national contexts we serve. I fully support the translation of such reports into appropriate national languages in culturally appropriate ways. Perhaps, in the near future, ISIAQ will be ready to start a practice-oriented periodical to complement the Indoor Air Journal.
Third, ISIAQ has done well in its traditional activities of soliciting the organization of the HB' xx conferences, co-organizing the Indoor Air' xx conferences and presenting our perspective at other scientific events. However, I hope that our Society can achieve a still more visible presence by having regional/local and ad hoc events to state more prominently our authority in the field. Such activities should help us develop our memberships as well.
The changing global context calls for a higher level of ethical, social and health responsibility, and ISIAQ is well positioned to be an active player as it pertains to our scientific domain (e.g., promoting the exercising of the Human Right to Healthy Indoor Air). I hope actively to seek a growing number of opportunities for ISIAQ to collaborate officially with government and international agencies, such as the World Health Organization, in defining indoor environment strategies and efforts in different regions of the world (e.g., ISIAQ network is positioned well to develop an educational agenda for a variety of audiences worldwide). My hope is to work to develop a more effective communication system to share ISIAQ's position on urgent-contemporary matters (e.g., asthma, "mold," as well as adequate and energy-efficient ventilation with relevant audiences. This step will strengthen our effectiveness in promoting ISIAQ's mission.
How much difference this BoD can make and how fast is, of course, not entirely in our hands. We shall move forward within a context bounded by our continuing need to keep ISIAQ finances stable, to secure funds to sustain a professional and efficient Secretariat, to continue develop our membership, and to continue to ensure that we pursue our activities via a lean and up to date modus operandi.

These are my general thoughts for the 2003-2006 term. I see these observations as the beginning of a process to structure a conversation with the other BoD members and with the General Assembly as we develop a strategic plan together for the term. I will share the outcomes of this planning process in the next few months as we come together to develop a shared vision.

This is quite a task! I look forward to meet each and every one at our 2003 General Assembly in Singapore in the capable hands of our hosts and organizers of Healthy Buildings 2003 International Conference.

In my native language: grazie per l'attenzione (Thank you for your attention).

Nadia Boschi