(The 2010 Advanced SPS Course took place at WTO headquarters, in Geneva, from 11-29 October 2010.  During this course, each participant developed an action plan to work on one aspect of implementation of the SPS Agreement upon return to his/her country.  Participants were required to report twice on progress with their action plans between October 2010 and June 2011, and encouraged to exchange experiences through an internet blog created for this purpose.)

The 2011 follow-up session consisted mainly of presentations from participants on the implementation of their action plans, including feedback from coaches and other participants and group discussions and presentations of difficulties encountered and possible solutions.  Participants also participated in the SPS Committee meeting that took place immediately following the follow-up session.  Many of them were actively involved in Committee discussions and commented that the course, combined with participation in two Committee meetings, had allowed them to fully grasp the issues and feel confident and comfortable enough to take an active role.

The 20 participants involved in this follow-up activity, out of the 26 who participated in the 2010 Advanced SPS Course, were government officials from developing and least-developed WTO Members.  Mr. Serafino Marchese, Chief of the Training and Capacity Building Section, Institute for Technical Cooperation and Training (ITTC), and Ms. Gretchen Stanton, Chief, SPS Measures Section, Agriculture and Commodities Division (AGCD), welcomed the participants at the opening ceremony and also presented them with their certificates at the closing ceremony.

Implemented within the WTO's progressive learning framework, this level 3 (highest level of training) training activity was jointly organized by the Secretariat's SPS Measures Section, AGCD, and the ITTC.  It further benefited from the expertise and involvement of two regular external coaches, Mr. Kevin Walker, Professor at Michigan State University, and Mr. João Magalhães, former WTO staff member.  The follow-up session is a good illustration of concrete evidence of the outcome of the Secretariat's Trade Capacity building efforts which is embedded in the new concept of Results Based Management (RBM) which will be introduced in the next WTO Biennial TA Plan 2012-2013.

  

List of the participants  back to top

Mrs. Vera LEVKOVICH, Belarus
Mr. Thuji TSHERING, Bhutan
Mr. Michael Agbeko Kwadjo SENAYAH, Ghana
Mrs. Subhodini PILLARISETTI, India
Mrs. Tatit Diah Nawang RETNO, Indonesia
Mr. Nassir OMUYITSI RAJAB, Kenya
Mrs. Thatsanaly SAPHANGTHONG, Lao People's Democratic Republic
Mr. Djibrilla MOUSSA, Mali
Mr. Ernesto Emilio GUEVARA LAM, Peru
Mr. Gerald Glenn PANGANIBAN,
Ms. Karen Kristine ROSCOM, Philippines
Miss Rukshani Shanmila Semasinghe SEMASINGHE MUDIYANSELAGE, Sri Lanka
Ms. Amel BELA, Sudan
Miss Sharon Natasha VEIRA, Suriname
Mr. Bernard N. DLAMINI, Swaziland
Mr. Wei Chih CHENG, Chinese Taipei
Mr. Sham BISSESSAR, Trinidad and Tobago
Miss Nilüfer ALTUNBAS, Turkey
Mr. Thanh Phuong DINH, Viet Nam
Mr. Yona SINKALA, Zambia