From 18 September to 3 November 2023, the French-speaking participants in the 87th Fellowship Programme of the World Customs Organization (WCO) had a chance to experience the new Programme model, switching between virtual and in-person components.
After three weeks of online exchanges during which the Fellows were informed about the latest developments and topical issues in all the technical fields addressed by the WCO, the former were tasked with developing a modernization project supervised by one or more tutors. These projects, intended for the Fellows’ respective home administrations, aim to provide modernization recommendations in a technical domain of relevance to Customs.
During their visit to the WCO Secretariat, the Fellows had an opportunity to meet with the Secretary General, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, during a roundtable session and to participate in the Workshop on Leadership and Management Development. The knowledge gained should enable them, once back home, to work towards the implementation of their technical recommendations and towards the change management process.
A practical two-week study visit to a partner Member Administration (Japan, Republic of Korea or France) will wrap up the Fellows’ participation in the Programme.
This 87th edition of the Programme, funded by the Customs Administrations of Japan and France as well as by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Korea, welcomed participants from the following WCO Member Administrations: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Moldova, Peru, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.