The International Congress for Occupational Safety and Occupational Medicine will again be held concurrently with A+A 2017, International Trade Fair with Congress for Safety, Security and Health at Work, from October 17 – 20, 2017 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. The 35th staging of the congress will have a changed structure and will officially start at the opening gala on the evening before A+A 2017 opens.

At the congress, 350 high-caliber experts from politics, research and health and safety sectors will talk about social developments, planned reforms in national and European policy, technical and organizational innovations as well as current scientific findings. The Federal German Association for Occupational Safety and Health (Basi), the organizer of the congress, expects 5,500 participants at the more than 50 lecture series held at the CCD Congress Center South of the Düsseldorf fairgrounds.

New Structure and Special Events

With the opening ceremony one day earlier than usual, the complete first day of the congress will be available for expert events. On the first three days of the congress, the focus will be entirely on safety, health and ergonomics while the topic of the last day (October 20) will be “Focus on Professions.” Lectures will revolve around issues of education and the cooperation between various professions in health and safety as well as presentations of health and safety at work as an attractive education and career option.  Also new will be  the event series “Praxis Interaktiv“ with practical approaches for the further development of basic concepts and themes for safety at the workplace such as hazard assessment or health promotion in the work-place (BGF).

Important focal themes of the congress will include events on prevention and digitalization. In addition to the “Work 4.0” theme covered in the “Industry 4.0” event, support systems for health and safety and human-robot collaboration will be leading topics. Another central theme will be carcinogenic hazardous substances such as asbestos, which will be featured under the motto “Fighting Occupational Cancer” as part of an EU-wide campaign.  Specific sectors and/or professions will be covered at the congress with focal sessions – such as offices with special attention to the design of open-plan offices. The construction sector as well as public service will also be addressed specifically. There will also be a separate “OSH Management Forum”.

On October 19, the first 1-day event will be held on the theme of “Disabled Employees - Representation and Prevention”. Disabled employees’ representatives are a new group of visitors to the A+A trade fair and this event was specifically designed in response to the new “German Participation Act” and the implementation of the UN-Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Other events will deal with “Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)”, “Biomaterials”, “Noise” and “Optical Radiation”. With the title “Biologically Effective Lighting” the new lighting concepts adapted to the human day-night rhythm will be discussed.

Twelve lecture series of the A+A Congress will offer German-English simultaneous translation. The A+A Congress will be accompanied by the high-caliber Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Forum of the International Social Security Association.

For current information about the 35th International Congress for Occupational Safety and Occupational Medicine: www.basi.de/aa-kongress.

At the A+A 2017 trade fair, more than 1,900 exhibitors from around the world will showcase their latest technologies, products and solutions for the occupational safety and health sector.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at A+A 2017, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/OccSafety_MDNA

For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at (866) 674-3476; Fax: (212) 674-3477; E-mail: info@ttitravel.net; www.traveltradeint.com