The IRSST has joined forces with the Palais des congrès de Montréal and Tourisme Montréal to submit a Canadian bid to host the triennial congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health (Commission internationale de la santé au travail – ICOH-CIST). This event offers the ideal opportunity for reinforcing the IRSST’s position as a vital organization in the world of occupational health and safety (OHS) research.
Regarded as the largest international event focused specifically on OHS research, the ICOH Congress provides a venue for educational, enriching, and practical exchanges, and for keeping abreast of the latest scientific approaches and solutions aimed at improving workers’ health, safety and well-being.
For the 2024 edition of this event, the ICOH’s Board of Directors has retained the applications of five countries: Canada, India, Morocco, the Netherlands and Thailand.
To add weight to its bid, the IRSST obtained letters of support from the federal and provincial governments, Ville de Montréal, several members of the Canadian branch of the ICOH, as well as various scientific, management (employer) and labour (union) associations, joint sector-based associations, and a number of universities.
An international non-governmental organization (NGO), the ICOH seeks to foster scientific progress, the advancement of knowledge, and the development of all aspects of OHS. It was founded in 1906 in Milan as the Permanent Commission on Occupational Health, and today, is the leading international scientific society in the field of occupational health. It has a membership of 2,000 professionals from 93 countries and maintains close working relationships with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Program for the Environment (UNEP) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA). Its official languages are English and French. The triennial world congresses are the ICOH’s most visible activity.
The IRSST previously organized the 23rd edition of this event in 1990 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. Under the theme “Sharing Solutions,” the event, which in those days ran under the name “International Congress on Occupational Health,” offered 600 lectures and presentations for 2,300 attendees from 75 countries. The 1990 event was co-presided by the IRSST and the ILO.
At the upcoming ICOH World Congress, to be held in Dublin from April 29 to May 4 this year, ICOH members will vote for the destination they deem most suitable. The name of the host city of the ICOH 2024 Congress will be announced at that time.