Dubai Customs celebrates the International Customs Day on 26th January 2011. The WCO has dedicated 2011 to the promotion and pursuit of knowledge activities with the theme “Knowledge, a catalyst for customs excellence.
The celebrations come at a time where Dubai Customs witnesses relentless activities and efforts in promoting the customs culture among its people and increasing their awareness towards related advancements in the field in order to foster the department’s services and enhance its relation with its clients and partners.
On the occasion, the department will publish a book in which it reviews its achievements during 2010 through which the department has approved its capability of materializing its vision of becoming one of the leading customs departments in the world that supports legal trade, protects society and enhances economic development.
HE Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation, and Director General of Dubai Customs said that the department has always been keen to disseminate knowledge during the past years due to the fact that it is one of the means of customs excellence. “ The department spares not effort in applying and disseminating recent management methodologies that can upgrade performance and develop professional competencies of all human resources in the department through holding courses, workshops, lectures and field visits†HE added.
During 2010, Dubai Customs has worked hard on spreading knowledge and achieving excellence through a series of initiatives, activities and events. The department has launched the initiative “ I aim for excellence†that aims at spreading the culture of excellence and related concepts and realizing Dubai Customs’ strategic objectives of the work plan 2007 – 2010 which believes that excellence is the most important means of achieving it.
The initiative included a number of workshops and lectures directed to all of Dubai Customs’ people. Tens of executives and heads of departments and employees from different customs divisions attended the events of the initiative.
The lectures covered topics such as standard comparisons, leadership, and corporate performance management, tools of quality and excellence, and quality management systems. 22 workshops have been held with the participation of about 750 people.
With the theme “Quality is everyone’s responsibility†Dubai Customs has carried out a number of other training workshops to raise awareness towards quality and stress its importance, and to help employees achieve quality in their daily work to increase department’s productivity and efficiency. About 450 people attended these lectures.
The department also launched “Knowledge Management†project that aims at upgrading staff’s customs knowledge and increasing their awareness of related advancement in order to introduce more distinctive and advanced services for clients through a number of lectures that handle relevant topics such as customs policies and intellectual property. 20 lectures have been handled in this regard with the participation of more than 500 employees.
The department has also conducted a number of workshops and lectures for senior executives and leaders to enhance their leading and administrative competencies as part of the “360 Leadership “Program which Dubai Customs applies for the third consecutive year. The lectures were delivered by a number of specialized experts in the administrative and psychological fields. Dubai Customs is the first government department in Dubai which fully applies “Leadership 360†Program, the approved program by Executive Council for Dubai Government Excellence Program.
Last year, Dubai Customs’ IPR Award was launched which covered UAE’s schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. The award aims at spreading the culture of protecting intellectual property among school students which can have a positive impact in enhancing legal trade in UAE and protecting society.
In 2010, Dubai Customs received tens of delegations from different local, regional and international government and private departments who visited the department to review its advanced systems, especially e-clearance system “Mersal 2†which was launched by the department the same year to help clients carry out their transactions easily and quickly and to beef up means of cooperation between the department and its clients to achieve the common interest of all.
During 2010, Dubai Customs received four paramount awards. Its website www.dubaicustoms.ae received technological innovation award which was organized by “Pan Arab Web Awardsâ€, and ranked first by “Star Awards†as the best client complaint management system which was announced during customer service week between 20 -24 June 2010.
Dubai Customs also ranked first in “Corporate Social Responsibility Arab Award†topping 62 organizations in 12 Arab countries. The department’s “Badr Initiative made an international achievement by earning the accredited platinum certificate received from Ideas UK Association declares that Dubai Customs is the first government department worldwide earns this accredited approval at the first audit visit launched by team members from the Ideas UK
