The Netherlands Customs Administration hosts two fellows as part of the 50th Fellowship Programme of WCO
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The two fellows and the Dutch team while visiting Schiphol Airport.
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The two fellows with their field study trip coordinator, Ms Anastasia Kondrashova, from the Dutch Customs.
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Mr. Konneh Gasper Neba, fellow from Cameroon and Mr. Osman Bangura, fellow from Sierra Leone.
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The 50th Fellowship Programme of WCO, which took place from October 12 to November 20 2009, has been successfully completed by all the 13 English-speaking participants. The participants were sponsored by Japan, Norway (via the NORAD) and the Netherlands. In line with tradition, each fellow spent four weeks at the WCO Secretariat in Brussels and two weeks on a field study tour with one of the sponsor or partner administration.
The Netherlands Customs administration hosted the fellows from Cameroon and Sierra Leone, who worked respectively on origin and classification, from November 7 to November 20 2009. The study tour for the fellow working on origin centered on the National Team of Origin Affairs based in Nijmegen. That for the fellow working on classification centered on the tariff team at the Rotterdam Custom-house. Both fellows had access to the most qualified experts in their areas of interest who were not only knowledgeable but also open-minded and willing to share their expertise with the visiting colleagues.
In addition to working with experts on these respective areas of specialization, the visiting fellows were accompanied on a tour of the port of Rotterdam and the Schiphol international airport. The fellows also visited the Netherlands Customs training center at Utrecht where they had a fruitful exchange with the head of Customs training and attended a class on classification.
On the whole, the study tour was very successfully managed, well planned and meticulously followed-up. The fellows benefited from a general exposure to the Netherlands Customs and a focus on their respective areas of specialization. Even the free days were put to good use thanks for a guided tour of the Netherlands capital city and some historic sites around the country.
May this partnership between the Netherlands Customs and the WCO Fellowship Programme continue for many years to come so that more fellows can benefit from the uniquely enriching experience of spending two weeks in such an inspiring environment.