CAISSE REGIONALE D'ASSURANCE MALADIE D'ILE-DE-FRANCE
(CRAM Ile-de-France) www.cramif.fr

Your Excellencies,
Dear presidents,
Dear ladies and gentlemen,

As Vice-President of the ISSA Construction Section, I am delighted with the success of this international Symposium in the lovely Salvador da Bahia.

Therefore, it's my pleasure to thank Fundacentro, and especially Mrs. Pavan, for the wonderful organization of this event. I'd also like to thank all my colleagues of the Construction Section for working out the content of this symposium, as well as the Section's secretarial department, that has put up a monumental performance backstage. Also the technical staff as well as all translators deserve our gratitude.

And, last but not least, I want to thank all of you, the participants, for attending this symposium in such large numbers and for showing so much interest, as you proved during question time.

Salvador da Bahia has charmed us and we will remember it for the rest of our lives, for various reasons:
[Because]

• The symposium was a big success, for the content as well as for the organisation
• The Brazilian people are happy and friendly
• The kitchen is excellent
• The cultural heritage is very rich as well as the music and the dance
• [And] there is a lot of sun, but also when it comes too warm, a little rain

As the Director General of the CNAC/NAVB, the organisation for prevention in the Belgian construction industry, I have a big challenge ahead of me, for our organisation's application to organize the XXIXth Symposium of the ISSA Construction Section on Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Industry, was accepted.

This next symposium will take place in Brussels in the year 2009, from November 23 until November 25.

And of course, we want the symposium to meet at least the high standards we have seen here in Brazil.

The Scientific Committee of the ISSA Construction Section gave the XXIXth symposium its subtitle: "Multidisciplinary research and development towards innovation and good practice".

All over the world, a lot of research on the working conditions in the construction industry is conducted. But all this research only leads to a small extent to innovations or general applications for the construction industry. During the symposium in Brussels, we want to promote the implementation of this research.

On the other hand, the approach will be multidisciplinary. We will not only give attention to technical innovations.

Amongst other things, we want to examine how research in humanities can also lead to innovation and examples of good practice, in order to influence especially human behaviour, and to come to working more safely and more healthily.

Indeed, despite the fact that technical preventive measures are often available, it is still not self-evident to use them. If we can find out why this is so, we can start working on the solutions.

So, the content of the XXIXth symposium shall definitely be worthwhile and shall create a new dimension for the prevention of industrial accidents and occupational diseases in the construction industry.

But also the location, Brussels, the capital of Europe and of Belgium, is very much worth visiting, as you will see in the short film we will show next.
Furthermore the Belgian construction industry also has to face a big challenge. This year a new objective has been advanced : in 2009 the Belgian industry wants to be the safest industry compared to other countries. And we sincerely hope that you will make it very difficult for Belgian to achieve this target.

I hope to see you all in Brussels in 2009. I am sure that in the film you will see next, you will find enough arguments to come and discover Belgium!

Thank you and a safe journey home!