INTA, together with the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) and
IPvocate Africa, organised a first virtual Customs training for 24 south-east
African countries that took place from 9 to 11 December 2020 (for English-speaking countries
and on 17 and 18 March 2021 (for French-speaking countries). Customs officials
from all around East Africa participated in the online seminar hosted on
the secure virtual conferencing platform of INTA. The training sessions will be
followed by a customs action targeting counterfeit goods in the region in the
second quarter of 2021.

The initiative was born out of a virtual Customs training program with
MRA during the lockdown in April 2020. MRA was pleased with the result of the
online training and initiated this regional event. Online customs trainings are
definitely the way forward, although they cannot permanently replace the
personal contacts with the customs officials. Going forward, right holders and
right holder organisations should push for online trainings in other regions of
the world as a supplement to actual physical training events where personal
contacts can be fostered.

Marius Schneider and Surishta Chetamun, IPvocateAfrica