Date:Apr 2016
IEA History
Keeping an eye on its own history is a wise thing for any organization. For too long a time the IEA did too little in this respect. The written history of the Association covers only the years from the foundation to 1985. In 2015 this was the reason for IEA President Eric Wang to invite a new Historian as an ex-officio member of the IEA Executive Board. Since then plans for a new publication covering the years 1986-2015 have been developed and agreed upon by both the Executive Committee and the IEA Council. The new publication is foreseen to be published in 2019 and will have the same format as the previous one, published in 2000. Past presidents will reflect on their terms and the developments of the IEA. The growth of the Association, the diversity of its members and the evolving focus on the discipline will certainly get attention. Since the triennial congresses are the most visible activity of the IEA to the outside world, past congress chairs will contribute as well. Of course chapters dealing with international collaboration, standardization, and the certification systems will be taken up.
A second task of the IEA Historian is to keep the archives up-to-date. The IEA paper archives are generously hosted by CNAM in Paris, France. It turns out that there are a few major items to take care of. Firstly, the oldest documents have begun to degenerate, so there is a need to make digital copies, which has been started. Next several documents are missing in the paper archives. The IEA EC is working to complete those. And finally, from early 2016 a digital archive is being built up, consisting of all major documents of the history of the IEA. All newly created documents on the operational activities of the Association are already being included, while older documents will be retrieved and incorporated.
A short IEA history book, the 50th Anniversary Booklet, the International Ergonomics Association, is downloadable using the link below (under Downloads in the home page).
History of the International Ergonomics Association: The First Quarter of a Century is downloadable using the link below (under Downloads in the home page).
Ernst A.P. Koningsveld Eur.Erg.
IEA Historian, April 2016
