Blended learning helps countries bolster trade and customs capabilities

Thursday, 26 September 2024 14:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Hybrid capacity building offered by ASYCUDA, UNCTAD’s customs automation program, bears fruit across a growing number of developing economies

Boosting its digital infrastructure, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority recently upgraded to the latest version of the ASYCUDAWorld software, an integrated and automated system for customs data from UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The change was implemented “with minimal challenges,” says the authority’s Compliance and Automation Head Adrian P. Swarres, noting that the training his organisation receives from UNCTAD helped smooth the process.

“We have been capacitated to continue to support and maintain the new ASYCUDA platform using our own resources,” Swarres says. “Where challenges are faced, the UNCTAD team is easily accessible.”

Since 1981, the ASYCUDA program has supported some 100 economies to automate and modernise their customs systems, expediting goods clearance and easing trade.

As UNCTAD’s largest technical assistance program, ASYCUDA prioritises capacity building to equip countries with the tools and knowledge to maintain and adapt their customs systems for improvements over time.

Blended learning offers flexibility and inclusivity

Central to ASYCUDA’s capacity-building work is its blended learning methodology that combines traditional in-person training with e-learning, fostering the development of local expertise in user countries worldwide.

The e-learning platform, which expanded substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic, currently features four comprehensive courses, more than 100 video tutorials, and over 40 user guides. It also provides a forum for knowledge sharing and the exchange of ideas across a diverse range of users, including customs officers, traders, information technology (IT) experts, and officials from partner government agencies.

Overall, ASYCUDA provides capacity-building mainly in three forms: technical and functional training programs focusing on IT and customs, awareness-raising seminars and workshops, and study tours for peer learning.

To facilitate global learning, ASYCUDA has regional training centres strategically located across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, including Gibraltar, Kuala Lumpur, Lusaka, Port of Spain, and Suva.

Developing countries make tangible progress

In Moldova, more than 1,200 customs officers and traders were trained by ASYCUDA in July and August on using a new computerised transit solution to facilitate access to European Union markets.

In Jamaica, ASYCUDA trained around 2,000 users of the country’s electronic single window for trade system during 2023, 64% of them women.

The system, which uses ASYCUDA technology, connects multiple government agencies responsible for clearing cross-border goods within one IT platform, helping save time and costs for traders.

In the Pacific, 14 nations have benefitted from ASYCUDAWorld and electronic single windows in terms of efficiency, transparency, improved government revenues, and trade statistics, accelerating progress towards sustainable and inclusive development.

Additionally, the ASYCUDA Support Mechanism for the Pacific (ASMP) delivers innovative and blended learning on a yearly basis through support coordinators and an ongoing rotation of fellows nominated by user countries in the ASMP office in Fiji.