Sri Lanka to celebrate World Metrology Day on 25 May

Tuesday, 22 May 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Measurement Units, Standards and Services Department (MUSSD) will celebrate this year’s World Metrology Day on 25 May to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Meter Convention on 20 May 1875. The Meter Convention provides the basis for a universal measurement system, which lays the platform for scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing, and trade as well as socioeconomic and environmental development.

The overarching theme of World Metrology Day 2018 is the ‘constant evolution of the international system of units (SI)’. At the General Conference on Weights and Measures in November 2018, a substantial change to the SIbased on new measurement methods using quantum phenomena is expected to be introduced. In support of MUSSD, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Physikalisch-TechnischeBundesanstalt (PTB) are co-hosting a series of commemorative events within the framework of the EU-Sri Lanka Trade-related Assistance project, funded by the European Union. World Metrology Day will commence with a symposium on 25 May at MUSSD’s main auditorium in Homagama featuring a metrologist from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS).

Sponsored by UNIDO and organised by MUSSD, an essay competition on five metrology-related topics and an art competition on three metrology-related topics will be held at schools island-wide. The competitions will be held in both Sinhala and Tamil, offering prizes for finalists. UNIDO also plans to distribute 25,000 booklets defining various SI units to schools and posters and banners will be displayed at district offices. These awareness-raising initiatives for the next generation and the public aim to introduce the importance of metrology to

everyday life in Sri Lanka.