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bring to business, government and society, the experts who develop them are largely 'unsung heroes', so it is wonderful to see the team responsible for MPEG-4 AVC receiving such high-profile recognition." Customer satisfaction awards While thousands of ISO standards provide benefits to business, government and society, the people respon- sible for their development largely remain in the background. The year 2009 saw an exception when a number of groups received highly public recognition of their work not only from ISO, but from the global community. Every year, ISO itself recognizes superior performance by one of its standards development groups through the Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award. The 2009 edition went to ISO technical committee ISO/TC 172, Optics and photonics. Presenting the award at the 32 nd ISO General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa, ISO President Alan Morrison said : "It is commendable that the committee and its leadership have produced the standards needed by the industry, when they are needed, and that the committee continues to provide the leadership and support that the industry requires." In January 2009, a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award for innovation in the MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standard was presented to ISO and IEC at an award ceremony in Las Vegas, USA. ITU-T's Video Coding Experts Group received a similar award for its role in the work. This is the second Emmy awarded for development of the MPEG-4 AVC standard in the space of a few months. ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele commented : "Despite the numerous benefits that International Standards ISO/TC 172 Secretary, Ms. Elisabeth Leitner (left), receives the Lawrence D. Eicher Award on behalf of the technical committee from ISO President, Dr. Alan Morrison. Dr. Leonardo Chiariglione (left), Convenor of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11, with Prof. Touradj Ebrahimi, Convenor of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29's Advisory group on management, holding the two MPEG-4 Emmy statues at the 87 th MPEG meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, in February 2009. 22 Annual Report 2009