WELCOME
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will hold its Eleventh Symposium and Exhibition on Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), from 14 to 16 October 2015 at ICAO Headquarters in Montréal, Canada. The Symposium is a world-class forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of traveller identification management, and the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Strategy providing decision makers and technical experts with valuable insight on key current and emerging issues.
As in previous years, an exhibition will complement the 2015 Symposium, showcasing a broad range of products and services related notably to travel document security applications, border inspection and automated border control systems.
The Eleventh Symposium follows last year's successful event, attended by over 500 participants from States, international organizations, companies and other institutions, and it will take place at ICAO Headquarters, 999, Boulevard Robert-Bourassa, H3C 5H7, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
At the centre of the ICAO TRIP Strategy, the foundations of holistic traveller identification management will be presented and discussed, including how to contribute to the capacity of Member States to uniquely identify individuals by providing tools and knowledge to establish and confirm the identity of travellers. The special feature of the Symposium is focus on the ICAO policy framework on holistic traveller identification management - the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (ICAO TRIP) by addressing, individually and collectively, the interdependent elements of the ICAO TRIP Strategy.
Elements of the ICAO TRIP Strategy:
- Evidence of identity: credible evidence of identity, involving the tracing, linkage and verification of identity against breeder documents to ensure the authenticity of identity;
- Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs): the design and manufacture of standardized MRTDs, including ePassports, that comply with ICAO specifications, hence minimizing document fraud, including current and emerging ICAO MRTD Standards, Recommended Practices and specifications, best practices and the 24 November 2015 deadline for the expiration of non-machine readable passports;
- Document issuance and control: processes and protocols for document issuance by appropriate authorities to authorized holders, and controls to prevent theft, tampering and loss;
- Inspection systems and tools: inspection systems and tools for the efficient and secure reading and verification of MRTDs and eMRTDs, including use of the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD); and
- Interoperable applications: globally interoperable applications and protocols that provide for timely, secure and reliable linkage of MRTDs and their holders to available and relevant data in the course of inspection operations. need of inter-agency cooperation and data sharing to ensure the integrity of passport issuance and border controls.
A dedicated session on the traveller identification management and MRTD capacity-building assistance will present successes, challenges, programmes and best practices in providing capacity-building assistance to Member States and regional organizations in the area of traveller identification management and security.
The presentations and handouts will be available in English only. Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French, Spanish and Russian. The Symposium programme will be posted on this website as soon as it is available and will be continually updated.
Symposium speakers and facilitators include world leaders in the field, policy makers and senior managers, top experts, practitioners and researchers, many from the relevant working groups of ICAO, ISO and other international organizations.
Who should attend
The Symposium will be of particular interest to government officials from national identification and travel document issuance authorities, passport offices, immigration, customs, police and other border inspection and law enforcement agencies; Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, as well as embassy and consular staff. Other key stakeholders include international organizations, donor agencies, private companies offering technologies and products for effective international identity and border management, airlines and airport authorities, security and facilitation consultants, academia and think tanks.
