September 2023
This Pencast is with Jose Luis Perez Diaz, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alcalá and coordinator of MELCHIOR, a Horizon 2020 funded project to rapidly detect drugs, explosives, weapons and illicit goods concealed on or inside people, employing a range of novel, noncontact technologies.
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Part 1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/24UYAkqGqiEXbJp1R6x4Of?si=462189ce5ff44ff0
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Part 2
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7kJgSTcKT7eTOvzg0scYlE?si=21ee4d595f7c46b1
"Environmentally friendly recycling service on the site where cigarettes are stored and destroyed by Customs authorities”, by Michael Wylde, CEO of Rezero -
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"The future of combating counterfeit - No parcel goes unchecked”, by Karolina Zhytnikova, Legal Manager (Brand Protection & IP),Countercheck -
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H2020-project ALIGNER: “A research and policy roadmap for AI in support of law enforcement " by Daniel Lückerath, Project Manager, Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS -
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"How to use traceability to combat illicit tobacco trade”, by Sébastien Spanneut, Head of Global Track & Trace Delivery, Worldline -
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August 2023
Today's episode features Marek Helm, the CEO of GScan, an Estonia-based producer of vehicle and cargo scanning technology that uses recent developments in atmospheric ray tomography. Data provided by muons, electrons, positrons and neutrons that pass through objects, once processed by AI and machine learning, allows the non-intrusive identification of cargo contents.
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July 2023
Today's Pencast conversation is with Micha Slegt, a senior scientist in the customs laboratory of the Customs Administration of the Netherlands. After earning a PhD in chemistry, Micha has worked for Dutch Customs for 17 years as senior chemist and researcher. He's currently in Brussels for a year, furthering his education via a posting with Belgium Customs.
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June 2023
Meet AELER, a forward thinking logistics innovation firm that brings advanced technologies to the container, the building block of our global economy, and to the ecosystem that surrounds the container. AELER scored second in the recent PEN-CP Innovation Prize. Today’s interview features company founder and co-CEO Naik Londono, and Port Network Lead Gadi Benmoshe.
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TAPA EMEA, RESILIENCE@RISK Conference & Exhibition, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 100 PEN-CP leaflets were made available at a TAPA stand, for the 500 delegates who attended the event.
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https://conference.tapaemea.org/welcome-to-the-tapa-emea-resiliencerisk/
Projects to Policy Seminar (PPS), co-organised by DG HOME and REA, in Brussels, Belgium. Table at the Border Management dedicated booth was used to pass 60 PEN-CP leaflets to the PPS event participants.
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https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/whats-new/events/projects-policy-seminar-2023-06-14_en
Podcast Resources: Dawn Wilkes of the UPU
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https://www.pen-cp.net/post/podcast-resources-dawn-wilkes-of-the-upu
PHARMAP 2023, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Packaging Congress, in Geneva, Switzerland. PEN-CP delivered a joint presentation with PARSEC: “Fighting trade in illicit medicines through technological innovation and cooperation between customs and the pharmaceutical industry.”
And, 80 PEN-CP leaflets were made available for over 250 pharmaceutical sector professionals.
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CUSTOMS AND PHARMA SECTORS - A NEW INFORMATION SHARING
PARTNERSHIP ABOUT USEFUL AND PROMISING INNOVATIONS
An 18-month pilot program begins between European Customs administrations and
Pharmaceutical companies, aimed at sharing information and learning from each other on
innovations particularly in material anomaly detection, anti-counterfeit measures, and
risk assessment tools and databases
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https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_46aa8e9cfbbc4556b67cc0440abdac08.pdf
Today's Pencast features Dawn Wilkes, Program Manager of the Security Group at the Universal Postal Union, the primary forum for postal cooperation between governments, Posts, regulators and other stakeholders, whose membership spans 192 countries. Previously, Ms. Wilkes worked at the Global Security Group of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal law enforcement branch of the U.S. Postal Service. This recording is the second half of our conversation.
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WCO-UPU Global Conference, specifically Session 4 “Cross-border e-commerce in postal items-what data work and how it can be utilized?”, in Tokyo, Japan. PEN-CP presented the annual study “Customs Innovations for Fighting Fraud and Trafficking in Cross-border Parcel Flows”. And, some 30 leaflets were handed to the event participants.
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Advancing Research and Innovation in Security with Horizon Europe - hybrid event organised by the Euresearch Network Office, in Lausanne, Switzerland. PEN-CP delivered an online presentation showcasing the project as “EU Framework program grant enabling true boosting of Customs innovations”.
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The PEN-CP YouTube channel, originally launched by the Cross-border Research Association (CBRA) in December 2017, reaches the 30.000 views/listens milestone
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https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_ca5b1a1aabd644018a93fcfaafbd9494.pdf
Today's Pencast features Dawn Wilkes, Program Manager of the Security Group at the Universal Postal Union, the primary forum for postal cooperation between governments, Posts, regulators and other stakeholders, whose membership spans 192 countries. Previously, Ms. Wilkes worked at the Global Security Group of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal law enforcement branch of the U.S. Postal Service. This recording is the first half of our conversation - the second half will appear next week.
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The winner of the 1st PEN-CP Innovation Prize (PIP-2022/23)* - “Advanced cargo scanner image analysis and threat object recognition training” - by Donatas Limantas, INTA, Lithuania -
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The World Resources Institute (WRI) & Open Timber Portal (OTP) - by Sophie Lebaste -
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Live video-streaming by AELER, the 3rd place participant in the 1st PEN-CP Innovation Prize (PIP-2022/23)* - “Smart containers with real-time track-and-trace and cargo monitoring, and software that identifies normal and atypical cargo behavior” - by co-CEO David Baur -
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Please download the magazine at our website:
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https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_0c193e7c94cc4b37a7d1e20ca89302c7.pdf
May 2023
RISE-SD 2023, EU Research and Innovation show in the field of Civil Protection & Defense, in Rhodes, Greece. Some 50 PEN-CP leaflets were made available for approximately 200 participants and 20 RDI projects in Disaster and crisis management; Critical Infrastructure protection, and Border security.
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Rupa Ganguli is an Indian social entrepreneur and campaigner for sustainable development and equality within the textile industry. She has founded a series of organizations, including SPINNA Circle and most recently Inclusive Trade, which aims to be the Amazon of fair trade. Inclusive Trade was named "Small Business Champion 2022”, a joint award of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Inclusive Trade recently received a prestigious GOLD Investibility rating from Capital Pilot, the investment rating agency.
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WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN THE 1ST PEN-CP INNOVATION PRIZE
Prize winners are innovators in cargo scanner image analysis, subatomic
particle scanning and smart container technology
https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_51827e1fc6954035a1b12699bdc724da.pdf
Enrika NaujokÄ— is co-founder of CustomsClear, an E-learning platform for customs practitioners that aims to engage customs practitioners in continuous professional growth and lifelong learning, and to contribute to the seamless and sustainable movement of goods across borders -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pxXTmlpiqM&list=PLwiRBCj7ddoKP5rfa0Yv7KKJAiFwzBiGo&index=5
April 2023
CERIS SSRI “Networks of Practitioners” Workshop: Exploitation of outcomes, capability requirements, and future perspectives, Brussels, Belgium - PEN-CP joined a panel session “Planning for the Future: Forward-looking methodologies for identifying and assessing capability requirements”
PEN-CP Year 4 Annual Event, Tirana, Albania - Approximately 45 participants (customs officers over 50%); Keynote speech: “Customs Inside Anywhere, Insights Everywhere” by Frank Heijmann, Dutch Customs, author of the bestselling book available here:
Conversation with Carlos Grau Tanner, Global Express Association
https://www.pen-cp.net/post/penblog-conversation-with-carlos-grau-tanner-global-express-association
Conversation with Ricardo Treviño Chapa, World Customs Organization (part 2)
Conversation with Ricardo Treviño Chapa, World Customs Organization (part 1)
Frank Heijmann is a senior executive in the Customs Administration of The Netherlands, with over 35 years of customs experience. He wrote CUSTOMS: Inside Anywhere, Insights Everywhere, the most complete and up-to-date introduction to the complex world of Customs available in print, published in October 2022 by Trichis Publishing in Rotterdam https://bit.ly/3UFEIbR. Frank is now Head of Trade Relations at the Customs Administration of the Netherlands, and guest lectures at several universities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgnMag0nGe0&list=PLwiRBCj7ddoKP5rfa0Yv7KKJAiFwzBiGo&index=4
Calls for proposals (Expert Reports ER7 and ER8)
Final submission deadline extension until 19 May 2023. Call texts are available at the PEN-CP website. PEN-CP-2022-ER7: Electronic seals for curtain sided transport — State-of-play & market review
https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_9bc1a78ca61e4628919b4791bf6e27d0.pdf
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PEN-CP-2022-ER8: Sensor systems as e-seals for curtain-sided transport — customs requirements and future priorities -
https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_149339fd719343c2aed688cb32d44597.pdf
Please download the magazine at our website
https://www.pen-cp.net/_files/ugd/8fecfb_7b9218f1916546e9948d84c505ecae7d.pdf
March 2023
Hurricane’s goal is to create a unified data highway that calculates duty and taxes in real time, while screening out prohibited and restricted goods and denied parties. Company leaders David Spottiswood and Martin Palmer share some of their views of the future of data, and explain how their unified vision of data consistency and transparency will benefit all stakeholders, public and private, in the customs universe. -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3dwVZlpPcg&list=PLwiRBCj7ddoKP5rfa0Yv7KKJAiFwzBiGo&index=3
On this episode we meet Carlos Grau Tanner, the Director General of the Global Express Association (GEA), who discusses the association’s work on issues such as international trade policy, trade facilitation and customs, e-commerce and air cargo security; highlights some of the valuable resources that GEA makes available to the industry and the general public; and speculates on what the future may hold for customs and express carriers, in a world of ever-growing e-commerce traffic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1oJMt82AbQ&list=PLwiRBCj7ddoKP5rfa0Yv7KKJAiFwzBiGo&index=2
OECD Task Force Meeting on Countering Illicit Trade, Paris, France - PEN-CP introduced and 15 leaflets handed out -
https://www.oecd.org/gov/illicit-trade/
Security & Policing Event, Farnborough, UK - PEN-CP promoted alongside UK Governmental Agencies & one dozen leaflets handed out (CBRA & UKBF participating) -
https://www.securityandpolicing.co.uk/news/record-breaking-success-for-security-policing-2023/
On the first episode of our Pencast re-launch, we speak with Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, whose diverse background in finance, revenue collection, social security and in customs for Mexico and the Caribbean Region provides invaluable skills and allies for his current role at the WCO. Ricardo’s wealth of previous experiences, and his current leadership of an energetic modernization programme at the WCO, give him unique perspectives on the future of customs innovation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp4DIfgPRbw&list=PLwiRBCj7ddoKP5rfa0Yv7KKJAiFwzBiGo&index=1
CERIS Workshop: “Methods and examples of piloting and validation of innovative border management solutions”, Brussels, Belgium - PEN-CP joined one of the panels, presenting: “Project introduction; Spectrum of PEN-CP innovation instruments; and Piloting & testing online & e-learning tools” -
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Radiation detection & video streaming, by Marco Panniello & colleagues, Arktis Radiation Detectors Ltd
Border management standardization roadmap, by Pertti Woitch, PEN-CP Ethics Advisor
February 2023
“Global Textile Scheme (GTS) and Digital Product Pass – details of a new data exchange standard for textile product data and its potentials for European Customs” – by Andreas R. Schneider, CEO, Global Textile Scheme GmbH
“Muon FLUX: a safer, more automatic, and penetrating inspection scanner technology by GScan” - by Andi Hektor, PhD | Chair of the Board | GScan OU
“From a Blockathon to a production-grade project on counterfeits”, European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, EUIPO - by Nicolas Hauw, Project Lead
January 2023
Workshop Swiss and EU start-up support, hybrid online & @Lausanne, Switzerland - PEN-CP used as an example of a EU-funded network of practitioners -project -
https://www.epfl-innovationpark.ch/
December 2022
“Horizon Europe Project iFLOWS : Advanced technologies for scanning and detection of illicit material for postal services and express courier flows”, by DI Dr. Thomas Staffenberger, iFLOWS Coordinator, Austria,
“The future of global trade data”, by Peter Bulters, CEO of CATTS, the Netherlands, Winner of the WCO Hackathon 2022
November 2022
The 25th Administrative Meeting for National Contact Points of WCO Regional Liaison Office Eastern and Central Europe (RILO ECE), online - PEN-CP introduced to approximately 40 Customs officers across RILO ECE member administrations -
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“Muon imaging overview and opportunities for customs”, by Dezso Varga, Head of High Energy Physics Department, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungary
“The solution for the mandatory requirement for complete, accurate and compliant advanced electronic data (AED) in cross-border eCommerce”, by Co-Founder David Spottiswood, Hurricane Commerce
“Global Express Association (GEA) Customs Capability Database: Tracking trade facilitation implementation from express delivery industry perspective”, by GEA Customs and Security Advisor Dietmar Jost & Director General of the GEA Carlos Grau Tanner, Switzerland
October 2022
EU High-level Customs Risk Management event - during CZ PRES the High-Level Seminar focused on the area of risk management and risk analysis - Prague, Czech Republic - 50 PEN-CP leaflets handed out to all participants, primarily intelligence and risk management directors across all Member States -
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WCO Technology Exhibition, Maastricht, the Netherlands - PEN-CP presented to a wide audience during lunch break slot & 100 PEN-CP leaflets handed out (at partner-UNIL booth) -
CERIS Border Management Expert Group, Brussels, Belgium - 15 PEN-CP leaflets handed out
“Horizon Europe project MELCHIOR - MECHANICAL IMPEDANCE and MULTIPHYSICS CONCEALED AND HIDDEN OBJECTS INTERROGATION” (started on 1.9.2022, 3 year duration), by Project coordinator Professor José Luis Pérez Díaz, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain.
June 2022
Global Customs Innovation Award co-winner UK Border Force (UKBF) & GCIA-2021 submission titled “Designed and embedded carrier connectivity dashboards, to identify carriers importing freight into Great Britain that are not submitting mandated pre-arrival safety and security declarations”, by Chris Hodges and Pardeep Bilkhu
Global Customs Innovation Award GCIA-2021 co-winner Australian Border Force (ABF) & “Innovation activities at ABF”, by Alison Graham