Professor Alex Fang Chengyu, Director of the Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of Language Studies and Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Translation at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), has been appointed as the Chairman of Technical Committee 37 – Language and Terminology of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/TC 37). This significant milestone reflects CityUHK's exceptional capabilities and influence in the global academic community.
The appointment, effective from 1 January 2025, marks a historic shift from predominantly European leadership to Hong Kong, and it is the first time the position is held by a representative from Asia. It stands as a testament to Professor Fang’s scholarly excellence and the trust placed in him by the appointing body to foster consensus among countries with widely differing political agendas.
Founded in 1947, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is one of the oldest non-governmental international organisations. It has over 170 member states from different regions of the world and develops international standards to facilitate trade and cooperation between people, companies, and countries worldwide.
ISO/TC 37 is one of ISO’s technical committees, focusing on the standardisation of descriptions, resources, technologies and services related to speech and language technology, terminology, translation, interpreting and other language-based activities in the multilingual information society.