Accreditation workshop for French speaking Customs Modernization Advisors
4-8 April 2011

Photo : Accreditation workshop participants and facilitators
The WCO held an accreditation workshop for Customs Modernization Advisors within its Secretariat in Brussels, from 4 to 8 April 2011.
The workshop was aimed at assessing potential French speaking experts from the Customs administrations of Belgium, France, the Republic of the Congo and Switzerland. A total of ten experts took part in this event, run by two representatives from the WCO Secretariat.
The workshop afforded the experts a broader understanding of the context in which the WCO’s capacity building activities take place. This event also enabled participants to familiarize themselves with the many concepts and methods employed by the WCO to support its Members, and with the different international standards relating to Customs management. The principles of ownership of the reform process and of holistic organizational development were discussed at length during the workshop.
Customs Modernization Advisors form the cornerstone of the WCO Capacity Building Programme, given their role as strategic advisors to Customs administrations wishing to prioritize and structure their reform and modernization efforts. They will be called on to provide advice about planning an organizational reform process and to support the development of funding proposals for modernization projects.
The accreditation process was established to ensure the continuity of the Capacity Building Programme and the provision of qualified experts who are genuinely prepared to meet the challenges of Customs reform. Among the participants, certain experts having satisfied the criteria to be met by an Advisor may be called on to take part in a field mission within one of the beneficiary Members of the WCO Capacity Building Programme.
The WCO takes this opportunity to underscore the continuous and crucial support of Member administrations that provide highly experienced Customs experts exhibiting the qualities required to assist the efforts of the Capacity Building Programme.
For further information on the expert accreditation programme, please contact the WCO Capacity Building Directorate.