Message from the World Customs Organization.docVIP

Message from the World Customs Organization International Customs Day 2011 Knowledge is now a definitive part of todays political and business environment. Terms such as a knowledge-based society, the knowledge economy and knowledge management now abound and it stands to reason that knowledge has become just as important for Customs administrations and their international trade stakeholders. Indeed, harnessing knowledge and using its power to become visionary, relevant and indispensable is one of the keys to success. The WCO realised this in 2008 when it adopted its Customs in the 21st Century vision in which a professional, knowledge-based service culture is recognized as one of the ten building blocks of a modern Customs administration. Hence my decision to designate 2011 as the WCO Year of Knowledge with the theme: Knowledge, a catalyst for Customs excellence”. Excellence is what we should be aiming at as a Customs community and I firmly believe that knowledge is indeed a catalyst, a critical tool that will help us to excel in what we do best: protect society, secure the supply chain, facilitate trade, and ensure the integrity of borders. In our fast-moving world, Customs administrations need to continuously adjust, often rapidly, to social, economic and political developments. They have to change in response to their experience; monitoring their operations, their environment, and their partners for clues to the efficiency and effectiveness of their performance and delivery. If we want to remain visionary, relevant and indispensable, we need to adopt a new approach to knowledge and learning. It is crucial that we consider knowledge as a means to empower the WCO and its 177 Members because it is an essential Customs resource that needs to be rationalized, managed and applied as part of a continuous learning process. At the organizational level, Customs managers need empirically-based and thought-provoking research, quality information and reliable intelli