The 14th Meeting of ROCB Europe and the Regional Training Centres (RTCs) of the WCO Europe Region was successfully held in an online format, bringing together representatives of all eight RTCs, the Vice Chair Office and the WCO Secretariat for a highly interactive and forward-looking discussion on the future of regional capacity building.
A key highlight of the meeting was the active participation of the WCO Secretariat, represented by Ms. Gugu Dlamini-Zwane, Head of the Needs Assessment and Strategic Support Unit, and Mr. Dashgin Aliyev, Regional Development Manager for Europe, as well as the Vice Chair of the WCO Europe Region, Ms. Megan Shaw. Their valuable contributions reflected a shared commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and enhancing the effectiveness of collective capacity-building efforts across the Region.
One of the major milestones of the meeting was the presentation and practical testing of the new RTCs Dashboard. Designed to support continuous communication, information sharing and interconnectivity among the RTC network, the Dashboard aims to become more than just a digital platform. It is envisioned as a common space where expertise, training programmes, reports, good practices and future initiatives can be shared, preserved and transformed into opportunities for cooperation.
Participants emphasized that the Europe Region possesses an exceptional concentration of expertise, experience, facilities and training capacity extending from Western Europe to Central Asia. Discussions focused on strengthening connections between existing assets, moving from individual excellence towards collective excellence, from information retention towards information sharing, and from isolated initiatives towards a genuine regional ecosystem of capacity building.
The meeting reaffirmed a shared ambition to build a more connected, transparent and impactful regional network capable of responding more effectively to emerging needs and priorities while maximizing the value generated by every RTC. Participants underlined that the Region’s eight Regional Training Centres each bring unique strengths and expertise, and that closer cooperation and more systematic information sharing will help unlock the full potential of this remarkable network.
The meeting concluded with a strong commitment to continue laying the foundations for an “RTC Network 2.0” — a network that is more connected, more visible, more collaborative and more impactful than ever before.
