Ross Wilsson is a qualified lawyer who has worked in rail port unions since 1979 and was the general Secretary Rail Maritime Transport Union until September 1999, after which he became the President of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.

He is a former Deputy Chairman of the Accident Compensation Corporation (1984-1990) and member of the NZ Government Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (ACOSH) 1985-1990. Currently a member of the Government committee developing a National Injury Prevention Strategy.

He has written many articles and conference papers on Occupational safety and health, the ACC, and employment law and policy. He is the joint author of Brookers´ legal text "Employment law" and author of the Brookers commentary on the Health Safety in Employment Act.

Dr Jukka Takala is the Director of SafeWork, the ILO programme on Safety and Health and the Environment launched in October 1999. Dr.Takala holds a BSc and an MSc in mechanical Engineering and a Doctorate in Engineering (DSc) from the Tampere University (Finland). He held the post of Chief of Machine Safety Bureau in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and in the Ministry of Labour in Finland from 1973.

Jukka Takala joined the ILO as Chief Technical Advisor and Expert in Occupational Safety and health in Nairobi (Kenya) in January 1978 and then in Bangkok (Thailand) in June 1983. He was the responsible for the International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre, CIS, between 1986 and 1994 and was appointed Chief of the safety and Health Information Services Branch in January 1994, and he has been the Chief of the Occupational Safety and health Branch of the ILO since 1996.

Marie-Chantal Blandin

Bachelor of Law and master of Organisations Management, Marie-Chantal Blandin began her career at the French Ministry of Social Affairs, where she worked for five years. After 8 years at the national Research and Safety Institute, she was appointed Director of Eurogip in December 1991.

Formed by the National Health Insurance Fund for Employees (CNAMTS) and the National research and Safety Institutes, Eurogip has the mission to co-ordinate, organise and develop at the European level the actions of the French social security system regarding safety and health in the workplace.

Dr. Walter Eichendorf received his university education in Bochum and Bonn (Physics and Mathematics) and was a research staff member at the European Southern Observatory between 1980 and 1983 in Geneva, Munic and Chile. At the Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (HVBG) he was the head of the statistical department 1983-1989, director of public relations 1989-1998, and he is the Deputy Director General since 1998.

Walter Eichendorf has been responsible for a number of large international projects, e.g. the European Year for safety and health at Work (1991-1993), Germany´s federation for Safety and health Basi (1996-1998) and the thematic area "Future of Work" at EXPO 2000 in Hanover.

Professor Claes Tingvall is the Director of Trafic Safety at the Swedish National Road Administration (SNRA); he is a statistician with a PhD from Karoliske Institute in injury epidemiology. Claes Tingvall was the head of traffic safety research at Folksam Insurance Group until 1994, when he was appointed as Director of Traffic Safety at SNRA.

Professor Tingvall was Adjunct Professor at Chalmers University of Technology 1991-98, and Director of Monash University Accident research Centre (MUARC) in Melbourne, Australia 1998-2000.

Claes Tingvall has been the instigator of vision Zero, a new principle for road safety and planning adopted by the Swedish Parlement, and he has published extensively in the areas of injury epidemiology, vehicle safety rating, assessment of car occupant protection, and safety policy.

Ralph W McGinn

Ralph W. McGinn (P.Eng) is the President and CEO of the Workers´ Compensation Board of British Colombia, Canada, formerly the head of the WCB Prevention Division and earlier the Chief Inspector of Mines in British Columbia.

Ralph McGinn is an experienced policy maker and international consultant on OHS regulation and practice. He has advised ILO, UN and jurisdictions in Africa, South America and Australia on matters related to health, safety and environmental protection in mining.