WCO Accreditation workshop for Customs Modernization Advisors in the WCO ESA region
Mombasa, 31 January – 04 February 2011
From 31 January to 04 Februay 2011 an accreditation workshop for Customs Modernization Advisors from the WCO East and Southern Africa region was hosted at the premises of the WCO Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Mombasa, Kenya. The workshop was funded by the Japanese Customs Corporation Fund. The WCO is also particularly grateful to the Danish Tax and Customs Administration for the contribution of Ms Astrid Boel who co-facilitated this workshop together with Ms Elke Portz from the WCO Secretariat.
The Customs Modernization Advisors accreditation workshops are part of the WCO strategic approach to obtain a wider access to Capacity Building experts and to ensure their qualified services for the WCO Columbus Programme and other WCO modernization initiatives.
This accreditation workshop is the 1st theoretical part of the 2-sep accreditation process for individuals with comprehensive experience and skills in change management, strategic planning, and organizational development. Once fully accredited, these advisors will be in a position to provide support to WCO Members in the planning and implementation of their Customs modernization initiatives. They may also be called upon to facilitate dialogue with donors and policy-makers on the importance of investing in Customs modernization.
In Mombasa, after an intense working week with numerous presentations, role plays and plenary discussions, a total of 8 experts were identified as potential future Customs Modernization Advisors; to accomplish the full accreditation process, these experts will hopefully be made available by their home administrations for follow-up In-field missions where they will support developing Members in a variety of strategic development areas under the WCO Capacity Building agenda.
In addition to this apparent achievement the participants reported upon their professional and personal benefits of this workshop. It provided them with an opportunity to become familiar with the WCO Capacity Building agenda, strategic planning methodologies, as well as with key WCO instruments and standards.
From a logistical perspective it is worthwhile mentioning that the effective collaboration with the Regional Office on Capacity Building and the RTC enabled a constructive learning environment for this accreditation workshop which was very well received by all participants.