73rd IIW Annual Assembly: Virtual conferencing revolutionises tradition for the international welding community

After the worldwide pandemic outbreak in February 2020, the International Institute of Welding (IIW; iiwelding.org) took the difficult decision to cancel the Annual Assembly originally planned in Singapore and instead develop the concept of an on-line Annual Assembly, to be held around the same dates of 15 to 22 July. This would be a major undertaking as the Assembly involves over 25 IIW Working Units (WUs) meeting simultaneously with a targeted participation of over 500 experts located around the world.