During a round-table session held at World Customs Organization (WCO) Headquarters on 7 October 2024, the Secretary General, Ian Saunders, welcomed the eleven French-speaking young Customs professionals, coming from various parts of the world, to the 90th Fellowship Programme.
This meeting, forming an integral part of the Fellowship Programme, marked the start of the Fellows’ two-week stay at the WCO Secretariat and entailed an exchange of views. The Secretary General responded to the Fellows’ questions, shared his vision and priorities for the Organization, and encouraged them to make the most of their participation in the Programme.
While at the WCO Secretariat, the Fellows were given the opportunity to take part in a Leadership and Management Development Workshop and to work on a modernization project, with the guidance of a WCO tutor. These were aimed at helping them contribute more effectively to their respective administrations’ modernization processes.
A study trip to observe operational practices in a partner Customs administration constitutes the third and last component of the Fellowship Programme and is currently taking place within one of the following partner administrations: France, Japan or the Republic of Korea.
Thanks to the financial support of and partnership with the Customs Administrations of France and Japan, as well as the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Korea, the 90th Fellowship Programme has brought together participants from the Customs Administrations of Algeria, Cameroon, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Niger, Tunisia and Vanuatu.
For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.