'Q in Europe: Innovation and transformation - the way to sustainability' The European Quality Week is celebrated in November every year throughout Europe. EUSKALIT - The Basque Quality Foundation - is responsible for coordinating the events held as part of European Quality Week in the Basque Country. These events are geared towards sharing experiences and showing the importance of Quality to the competitiveness of organisations. The first European Quality Week was organised in the Basque Country in 1996, in the course of which over 1,500 people attended 17 EFQM Excellence model and management improvement related events coordinated by EUSKALIT. By the year 2000, 42 bodies were involved in the organisation of 50 events attended by around 2,000 people, all under the coordination of EUSKALIT. That same year, the European Quality week was extended to cover two weeks, and since then, these two weeks of November are key dates on the calendar for around 50 different organisations which collaborate with EUSKALIT in organising around 60 different events attended by over 4,000 people. The events planned for 2005 are geared towards different collectives (industrial and service companies, education centres, associations, health centres, public sector authorities, etc.), and will be held all around the Basque Country, cementing the Basque Country's position as one of the most advanced regions of Europe in the field of Quality promotion. Other data revealing the degree of commitment in the Basque Country to Quality and Business Excellence include; over 4,000 companies and organisations certified under ISO 9001, 120 Commitment to Excellence Diplomas, over 1,100 members of the EUSKALIT Assessors' Club, 64 organisations recognised with the Basque Government "Silver Q for Quality" Award and a further 14 with the "Gold Q for Quality" Award. Such progression has been crowned by the results achieved over the last 5 years by Basque Country organisations in the European Quality Award: 5 EQA Prize Winners and a further 7 Finalists.