One of the major events in the WCO calendar is the annual WСO PICARD Conference “Partnership in Customs Academic Research and Development” (PICARD Conference), which is an international platform to foster dialogue among Customs, the academic community and the private sector.
The event was held from 7 to 9 December 2022 in a hybrid format and was devoted to discussion of advanced technologies and the latest trends in data analytics, risk analysis, green customs, border security, trade facilitation, fraud detection, fair taxation. In this regard, the first hands-on workshop on data science for Customs was successfully completed during PICARD conference and the results of the latest research were shared, together with case studies and information on the fight against commercial fraud by Customs administrations.
This year over 500 registered participants from more over 100 countries took part in the PICARD conference, including a representative of the Department for Specialized Training and Canine Services of the State Customs Service (Department).
One focus of the 10 sessions of the PICARD Conference was to promote gender equality and transform corporate culture at customs administrations of WCO member countries, in particular: advancing Women for Gender Inclusive Customs, developing a Gender Lens for the Namibia Revenue Agency under the SACU Customs Modernisation Programme, as well as changing the culture of Ports of entry of the South African Revenue Service to combat fraud and corruption.
Taking into account the fact that the Department is actively involved in the promotion of gender policy at the State Customs Service, in particular, highlighting relevant information on this topic, conducting specialized training to increase gender awareness of officials of the State Customs Service and its territorial bodies, participating in the meetings of the Working Group of the State Customs Service on the implementation of gender policy and the WCO Virtual Group on Gender Equality and Diversity, the issues highlighted during this session remain relevant.
World Customs Organization – Organisation Mondiale des Douanes
