World Chambers Federation

WCF Webinar on Certificates of Origin draws participants from 27 countries

  • 1 April 2010

Participants from 27 countries connected through their computers to follow Steve Baker, the International Trade Certification Manager from the British Chambers of Commerce, cover topics on Certificates of Origin (COs) ranging from their purpose to ensuring quality service and confidentiality.

The ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) webinar was enriched with input from participants via short polls and an interactive question and answer session.

COs are an important topic for many chambers interested in the documentation process, and this was confirmed through the participation of representatives from a wide range of countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Macedonia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The China Chamber of International Commerce organized a simultaneous interpretation of the webinar for its members and staff.

“From the convenience of our own office, the great-value webinar gave me the know-how to implement our own chamber CO programme,” said Yan Yun, Director of the Office of Certification and Authentication of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

While providing solid introduction on COs, WCF also introduced chambers to how to use webinars, an innovative communication tool with which many chambers are unfamiliar.

“This is an innovative format of communication among chamber members that we will be using more and more,” said WCF Director Anthony Parkes. “Through these webinars we continue to fulfill our mandate to provide the global forum of chambers of commerce with the means to exchange best practices and experiences.”

Short for web-based seminar, a webinar is a presentation or workshop that is transmitted over the Internet. A prominent feature of a webinar is its interactive elements – the ability to give, receive and discuss information.

The online seminars are live interactive learning experiences. Participants are able to ask the instructor questions and get answers in real time. The instructor can conduct polls and ask questions and show his audience PowerPoint slides during the seminar.

These types of online courses have a much higher impact than simply reading material on the web. Webinars offer exceptional convenience and are very cost-effective as they do not require the participants to travel.