The 3rd Annual International NanoActivist NGO Summit

Last week Friends of the Earth and the International Center for Technology Assessment co-hosted the 3rd Annual International NanoActivist NGO Summit in our new Washington, DC office. The conference re-convened and expanded the base of interested parties that attended our previous conferences, advancing our collaborative work to develop a broad, comprehensive campaign to regulate the hazardous new field of nanotechnology.

The conference was attended by many leaders in the NGO community worldwide (from Central/South America, Europe, Canada, and Australia) and brought together organizations that work on a broad range of issues including: representatives from labor unions; women’s health organizations; academics; environmental groups; civil society organizations; and citizen-based grassroots groups.

Speakers at the conference included scientists from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). As part of the three-day meeting we held a session on framing the nanotechnology issue with a media consultant and had global updates from three continents on policy relating to nanotechnology.

Our nanotechnology campaigns fulfill a key need for reliable, widely accessible information regarding the health and environmental risks posed by manufactured nanomaterials. We also help build pressure on governments to take action to regulate these industries and advocate for safe and precautionary management of nanotechnologies.

Nanoparticles are in a huge array of products ranging from food and cosmetics to household appliances and batteries. Nanotechnology cross-cuts many disciplines, which requires that our organizations work together closely in order to leverage our combined expertise in various fields that are relevant to nanotechnology advocacy.