In line with WCO’s continuous efforts to enhance capacities among its Members to advance Gender Equality and Diversity (GED) in Customs, the WCO organized a virtual train-the-trainer workshop for seven French-speaking participants from the 8th to 12th of April 2024.
The initiative to create a pool of Recognized GED Experts has been launched to enhance the WCO’s capacity to respond to Members’ increasing interest in developing policies and practices on GED. This workshop was designed and delivered based on the successful results of a train-the-trainer workshop in Brussels in March 2023, targeting 20 English-speaking participants.
Through a five-day interactive workshop, the participants increased their knowledge of the WCO tools promoting GED in Customs, particularly the December 2023 edition of the Gender Equality Organizational Assessment Tool (GEOAT) and the blended training package, which also includes two e-learning modules (available on the CLiKC! platform).
Participants were guided through a number of exercises that increased their understanding of the topic and how to use WCO’s suite of initiatives and tools developed to promote a holistic implementation of gender and diversity in different areas of Customs internal and external policies.
The workshop stressed the importance of conducting a diagnostic to identify strengths and gaps and designing and adopting a framework, such as an action plan, including a robust monitoring and evaluation system, to continuously monitor whether targets are met according to the set objectives. Participants also shared their experiences in implementing GED in their respective Administrations.
Following the workshop, the WCO Secretariat will invite the participants deemed most capable of assisting fellow Customs Administrations to deliver capacity-building support to complete the process of becoming Recognized GED Experts. The WCO looks forward to collaborating closely with the new WCO GED Champions to advance this agenda.
For more information about this activity and the WCO’s work on GED, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org