“Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet” – 15th Annual WCO PICARD Conference
The 15th annual WCO PICARD Conference was held from 23 to 26 November 2020 as a web conference and was organised by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and with an additional donor support by the Korea Customs Service.
Conference Summary
The PICARD Conference was held virtually for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the four-day conference, 50 speakers, customs professionals, academic researchers, representatives of the private sector and think tanks, were heard. Papers were presented across 12 conference sessions. With more than 500 registrations and 240 to 400 participants each day, the annual conference was highly appreciated.
The 2020 PICARD Conference topics included:
- Lessons learned regarding Customs’ response and role in supply chain continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet
- Organizational Performance Measurement
- Data Analytics and data-driven Customs
Dr Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO opened the conference. In his speech, he emphasised the role of the PICARD Conference as a platform for the exchange and discussion of Customs-related research findings.
Three sessions dealt with COVID-19 related topics. Customs’ and WCO responses to the pandemic were discussed, with particular emphasis on the importance of digitalization, partnership between customs and business and the use of WCO tools such as Single Window and Authorised Economic Operator as lessons learned.
Also, a session was held on the current topic of environmental sustainability within WCO’s theme for 2020 “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”. Sessions on data analytics and new technologies explained the latest developments related to the WCO’s data analytics project and its application in capacity building. In sessions dealing with organisational performance measurement, empirical studies conducted within Customs provided insights into the WCO’s work on developing a performance mechanism.
Conference Presentations
The following presentations were delivered at the conference:
| PRESENTATION TITLE | SPEAKER(S) | DOWNLOAD |
| DAY 1 | ||
| Report by the Secretariat on the WCO and Customs’ contributions | Vyara Filipova | EN |
| Partnership between Customs and Business during the COVID-19 pandemic | Fermin Cuz | EN |
| Humanitarian Customs: Lessons learned regarding Customs response and role in supply chain continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic | T. Samaya Murali and S. Vandana Raj | EN |
| SACU and its response to COVID-19 – Approaches for building resilience for Customs administrations | Mbakiso Magwape | EN |
| Some notes on the actions of Customs administrations against the COVID-19 pandemic | Eva Roxana Aliaga | |
| Saudi Customs’ efforts for streamlined operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic | Nawal Younis and Khalid Alzahrani | EN |
| Current situation, observation and analysis on waste control at border by Customs | Kenji Omi | EN |
| The role of Customs in environmental protection: The case of the Islamic Republic of Iran | Saeid Mohamadiyan | EN |
| WCO role in illegal transboundary movements of waste: Experience of Indonesia | Yuafanda Kholfi Hartono | EN |
| DAY 2 | ||
| Report by the Secretariat on the BACUDA project on data analytics | Kenji Omi and Mourad Arfaoui | EN |
| Customs revenue prediction using ensemble methods (statistical modeling vs machine learning | Jordan Simonov and Zoran Gligorov | EN |
| Machine learning for detection of trade in strategic goods: An approach to support future Customs enforcement and outreach | Christopher Nelson | EN |
| The multifaceted and challenging evaluation of the impact of data analytics in the Customs risk management process | Jonathan Migeotte and Mathieu Labare | EN |
| Report by the Secretariat on the WCO and Customs’ contributions | Maka Khvedelidze | EN |
| Linking performance management systems with organizational performance: A case study of the Indonesian Customs and Excise Administration | Saut Mulia Simbolon | EN |
| Measurement of relative efficiency of the implementation of WCO policies and guidelines by the Customs and commercial community | Gloria Rodriguez-Lozano and Sebastian Galindo-Cantor | EN |
| Panel discussion: What do new pre-arrival processing (PAP) capabilities in Montenegro tell us about Customs performance measurement? Practical insights from a recent assessment | Andrew Grainger, Maria Rackovic, Stojanka Milosevic, Steven Pope and Tanja Boskovic | EN |
| DAY 3 | ||
| Implementing an Innovation Strategy in the WCO: Responding to Disruptive Events | Ricardo Treviño Chapa | EN |
| The WCO and global trade: Imprints and future paradigms | M.M. Parthiban and G. Kanaga Subramanian | EN |
| The World Customs Organization as a knowledge-based organization | Jenia Peteva | EN |
| Managing Customs risk and compliance: An integrated approach | David Widdowson | EN |
| The changing role of Customs – Customs aligning with supply chain management | Frank Heijmann, Yao-Hua Tan, Boriana Rukanova and Albert Veenstra | EN |
| Future of the Revised Kyoto Convention and an ongoing RKC review process | Hans-Michael Wolffgang, Achim Rogmann and Kerstin Harden | EN |
| Day 4 | ||
| The Mercator Programme and the latest developments in capacity building activities and the PICARD Programme | Jonathan Fellows | EN |
| Customs capacity building through Partnership in Customs Academic Research and Development (PICARD): Achievements and future directions | Juha Hintsa and Mikhail Kashubsky | EN |
| The WCO’s impact to date and lessons learned: The road from Columbus to Competency | David Hesketh | EN |
| How to better utilize the PICARD Programme in the WCO capacity building activities from the perspective of the WCO Asia-Pacific regional structures | Tong Hua | EN |
| Effectiveness and efficiency of artificial intelligence in boosting Customs performance: A case study of the RECTS at the Uganda Customs Administration | Kugonza Julius and Mugalula Christabel | EN |
| How can Customs better leverage emerging technologies for more sustainable and smarter operations? | Ismael Kafando | EN |
| Blockchain technology in post and Customs | Samira Rahmanian and Morteza Farokhzad | EN |