Your recent visit to ISS gave you the opportunity to meet its leadership, staff and national experts. What impressions did you take away, and where do you see the greatest potential for closer cooperation between ISO and ISS?
My visit to ISS left a very positive impression. I received a warm welcome from everyone I met, but what really struck me was the high level of engagement across the organization and the genuine interest in both national and international standardization. Our discussions were open and constructive, and reinforced my belief that there is real potential to deepen cooperation between our two organizations.
This kind of engagement is at the heart of how ISO works. We bring together experts from different countries and backgrounds, each with their own experience, perspectives and priorities, and ask them to reach consensus on the best way of doing things. National experts are central to that process. They bring the realities of their industries, countries and regions to the international stage, and, in turn, benefit from the knowledge and expertise of others. This collaboration is what gives International Standards their global relevance and helps build trust in the solutions we develop.
This is also where I see the greatest scope for cooperation: creating more opportunities for Serbian expertise and perspectives to contribute to international standardization, while bringing the knowledge and experience of the wider ISO community back to Serbia. My visit emphasised how much we have to gain from that exchange, and I look forward to building on it together.
ISS has built a strong presence within ISO over the past 20 years, including through its current representation on the ISO Council. How do you see its role evolving, both internationally and across the region?
ISS is an active and valued member of the ISO community. Its participation in over 70 technical committees brings Serbian expertise to a wide range of areas, from food products to environmental management, while its engagement in regional and all-member forums gives it a respected and influential voice in conversations about the future of standardization. I also greatly appreciate the huge contribution its Director General, Tatjana Bojanić, makes to ISO governance through her membership of the ISO Council.
I see potential to build on that foundation. Greater participation in ISO’s technical work, including more Serbian experts taking on leadership roles as Chairs and convenors, would give Serbia an even stronger voice in international standardization. It would also create opportunities to shape standards in areas that matter to the country and the wider region.
ISO is there to support that ambition. We work closely with all our members to understand where they want to deepen their engagement and how we can help, whether through bilateral meetings, forums, advocacy events, or opportunities to connect across the wider ISO community. For ISS, I see plenty of scope to build on an already strong relationship and make Serbia’s contribution felt even more widely.
The ISO Strategy 2030 sets out ambitious goals for a rapidly changing world. What does delivering on those ambitions look like in practice, and how is ISO helping developing countries contribute more fully to this work?
The ISO Strategy only has value if it translates into action. That means developing the standards the world needs and ensuring they remain relevant as technology, economies and societal expectations evolve. But global solutions require global participation. With members from more than 170 countries, one of ISO’s strengths is the diversity of perspectives we can bring to the table – both in the development of standards and when making decisions as an organization.
The same principle applies to our strategic programmes. If our aim is to respond to global challenges, members from every part of the world must contribute to the implementation of the ISO Strategy 2030 and the projects that drive it. That also means listening to members directly. National standards bodies (NSBs) operate in very different contexts, with different mandates, resources and levels of commercial and digital maturity, so our support needs to reflect this.
Our conversations with members help us understand their priorities and what delivering the Strategy looks like in practice for them. Through the Action Plan for developing countries, we offer a wide range of capacity-building activities, knowledge and practical tools to support NSBs from developing countries and enable experts to participate more effectively in international standards development.
Ultimately, delivering the Strategy is a collective effort: the stronger and more engaged our members are, the stronger the ISO system becomes.
The SMART programme is exploring new ways to deliver standards content for the digital age. How could this change the way people use standards, and what role will national standards bodies play in shaping this evolution?
The way people find, access and use information is evolving, and standards need to respond to these changing expectations. Together with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), we are exploring, through the SMART programme, how standards content can be digitally enhanced to become more accessible and usable in a digital environment, and what new possibilities this could create for users.
An important milestone comes in October, when we will begin a soft launch of digitally enhanced content for a small number of standards, including ISO 9001:2026 and ISO 14001:2026. This is very much a learning phase. We want to find out how users respond, what brings them real value and what we need to improve before deciding on the longer-term direction.
NSBs have a central role in that process because they understand their markets and the needs of standards users in their countries. We want members to explore these new possibilities, provide feedback and help us understand what works in different national contexts. This is an exciting step forward, and an opportunity for us to learn together and use this experience to shape how standards content evolves across the ISO system.
What message would you like to share with Serbia’s business and public sector, and the wider public, about the practical value of standards?
My message would be simple: standards are not just technical documents. When used effectively, they help businesses compete, governments deliver better outcomes and people have greater confidence in the products, services and systems they rely on every day.
The World Bank’s World Development Report 2025 describes standards as the “hidden foundations of prosperity”. They make it easier for businesses to trade and innovate, help technologies work together and provide governments with internationally agreed solutions that can support effective regulation and public policy. For Serbia, that means stronger competitiveness, better access to international markets and greater integration into the global economy.
What matters now is putting standards to work. ISS has a key role in making that happen, connecting Serbian businesses, government and experts with international standardization, while bringing Serbia’s own experience and priorities to the global table. As the World Bank puts it, “countries that take standards seriously are getting ahead”. From what I saw during my visit, Serbia is well placed to be one of them.
Prepared by: Jovana Korićanac
