CIS is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. We have been around long enough to see a complete transformation of the world of information processing, storage and dissemination from being based on print and paper to being based on digital storage in various electronic media. During the same period the world of occupational safety and health has also progressed from a relatively marginal position in the working environment to being a key component of what the ILO considers as the decent work agenda. CIS’s future depends on paying close attention to the ongoing changes in the two components of its mandate : Information and OSH. CIS is the knowledge management arm of the Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork). Its goal is to ensure that workers and everyone concerned with their protection have access to the facts they need to prevent occupational injuries and diseases. CIS continuously monitors world literature on occupational safety and health through its contacts with publishers and with 136 focal points ("CIS Centres") at the national or regional level. Summaries and citations of the most useful publications, as well as products based on the collected information, are disseminated electronically and in print. The network of CIS Centres contributes to the exchange of information among persons responsible for the establishment and implementation of national policies and programmes. CIS was founded in 1959 as a joint endeavour of the ILO, the International Social Security Association, the European Coal and Steel Community and the occupational safety and health authorities of 11 European countries. The original 11-member network of National Centres has grown to cover 120 countries all over the world. In many countries, Collaborating Centres complement the National Centres, and the Arab Occupational Health and Safety Institute of the Arab Labour Organization became the first Regional Centre in 2004. With the evolution of European institutions, CIS now enjoys the support of the European Commission. The menus to the left provide access to the full range of CIS databases and publications. They also link to details about the programme and budget of the CIS, its network of Centres and a number of occupational safety and health information sources inside and outside the ILO.