A Message from Geoff Draper, special to DVN
“Dear friends,
I am sure that when you opened this edition of the DVNewsletter the last thing you expected to read was the announcement from Hector that I have accepted his invitation to join the DVN team as Regulatory Advisor. To be honest, a few days ago, the last thing on my mind was the likelihood of a phone call from Hector to discuss his proposed invitation. However, I am delighted to have this opportunity to re-enter the unique and wonderful global lighting family with a completely new mission, although I expect that you will find my passion for global harmonisation will be as boring as ever!
I reached my decision to retire in January 2020, when the world was a very different place, without concerns of the pandemic, but my expectations and plans for a new personal life with my wife and family were seriously disrupted as we all found ourselves putting our lives on hold. This certainly has made me realise that I am not ready to enter into a life of immediate full withdrawal from the world of lighting, that had engaged my attention and given me much intellectual stimulation over many years.
I see my new role and mission as a great opportunity to engage with the global lighting family by acting as a facilitator in the field of regulations, to aid understanding and encourage communication. This is not in conflict with the work of GTB, the vehicle manufacturers’ or lighting manufacturers’ associations, standards organisations, et al. I also don’t foresee any conflict with the interests of the governments working to harmonise vehicle regulations, mostly under the umbrella of the UNECE World Forum (WP29). In particular, both GTB and DVN are unique organisations with a common interest but with different roles.
GTB is one of a few NGOs with special consultative status at the United Nations ECOSOC and it is unique as an international expert group entitled to contribute to the work of WP29 and GRE in Geneva. Of course, this means GTB is obliged to work according to its statute and by-laws that require democratic decisions, and it has strict membership rules based upon national delegations. The work of GTB is primarily technical as a drafter of proposals for the legal text of the regulations with the emphasis on safety.
DVN is truly unique because it provides a communication platform that accommodates a huge global participation from top level company executives to expert engineers interested in market and technology trends.
We already see that GTB and DVN are the two important pillars supporting the interests of the global lighting family.
Over the coming months I will explain how I will carry out my new role and how I intend to facilitate effective and efficient communication through the creation of regional interest groups (initially, Asia, Europe, and North America).
I would like to emphasise that these interest groups will not develop detailed proposals for the text of regulations and standards; that is the work of GTB and other contributors to the UN World Forum (WP29 and GRE). As I explained in my presentation to the December 2020 DVN regulatory session, my interest is to find a way to synchronise and harmonise global technical requirements to remove barriers to innovation.
So, my great friends, I am motivated by this new role in DVN, and I look forward to working with you as a facilitator and advisor!
