Border Management Conference 2012 – 06-05-2012 – Bangkok, Thailand
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and APSCA will host the 2nd Conference on Technical Cooperation & Capacity Building for Border Management, an international event, on “Facilitating Travel & Reducing Risks through Efficient Pre-Departure Data Management”. Evolving from the highly successful Government Discussion Forum on Electronic Identity Documents, the Border Management Conferences is the largest Asian gathering of National Government Agencies including Immigration, Border Control, Customs and other agencies with responsibilities in the area of Border Management, passports and visas in the Asian region. The conference will be held in Bangkok at the Dusit Thani Hotel on 5-7 June 2012.
Background
The conference is for national government officials from departments, including the Immigration Services, Border Control Agencies, Customs and other authorities, with responsibilities in the area of border management in the Asia-Pacific region. This unique conference has evolved from the highly successful “Government Discussion Forums on Electronic Identity Documents,” which have been organized annually by APSCA and government agencies in Asia since 2002.
Results: 1st Border Management Conference 2010
In 2010, the highly successful 1st Conference on Technical Cooperation & Capacity Building for Border Management was organised by IOM and APSCA in Bangkok. The conference was attended by more than 300 participants, including over 120 senior government officials from approximately 70 agencies representing more than 30 countries, as well as representatives of 8 international organizations. Government officials participating in the conference included representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Public Security, as well as Immigration Departments and other agencies with responsibilities for border management.
Conference Theme
The theme of the 2nd Border Management Conference is:
“Facilitating Travel & Reducing Risks through
Efficient Pre-Departure Data Management”
Improved infrastructure, competition in the travel industry and cheaper travel are giving an increasing number of people the opportunity to visit or live in another country.
While this benefits world trade and tourism, it brings with it an increasing need not only to issue more travel documents and visas, but also to deal with more lost passports and identity cards, congestion at airports, lengthy delays at border crossing points, and a raft of safety and national security challenges.
Government agencies directly or indirectly involved in border management face an uphill task coping with these changes. They recognize the need for strategies that embrace innovation, greater efficiency, more self-service and the pre-departure collection of passenger and travel data to meet the challenges.
The explosion in travel is also impacting travel agencies, carriers, airport and harbour authorities and public bodies responsible for transport infrastructure, particularly in Asia.
While airport passenger numbers worldwide dropped by 1.8% in 2009 due to the recession, in the Asia-Pacific region they continued to grow by 4.9%.
To manage larger numbers of travelers than ever before, new solutions have to be developed, tested and implemented. A number of measures have already been put in place and a variety of innovative solutions are being tested.
The border control agencies at the forefront of the new developments are collecting pre-departure data and using it to speed up processing times at borders and to reduce the risk of allowing unwanted people and illicit goods across borders.
Pre-departure data is collected through various means, including visa applications, electronic travel authorizations (ETA), passenger name records (PNR), and advanced passenger information or processing (API/P).
These mechanisms often allow passengers to use automated border crossing systems, which cut down on waiting times and speed up the process of importing goods.
Efficient border management systems need to take a holistic approach to IT infrastructure, exchange of information, trend analysis, detection equipment, and training of border management officials.
Conference Aim
The aim of this conference is to share with Asia-Pacific governments, immigration, border management agencies and other participants, state-of-the-art solutions in the collection of pre-departure data. The conference will explore the mechanisms needed, roles of various national agencies, as well as privacy & data protection and analytical tools used for a responsible decision-making process. New technologies, best practices in pre-departure data collection and other border management developments will also be discussed.
Conference Objective
Our objective is to improve border management in the Asia-Pacific region through closer consultation and cooperation among national authorities responsible for border control and key international partner organizations.
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