Press
Press Release:
Milan, May 28th, 2008
Registered Traveler Forum in Amsterdam:
perfect timing and overwhelming success of the second edition of the event
On May 22 and 23, the 2008 global summit on increasing security while facilitating travel took place in Amsterdam, with over 40 international speakers from government, transportation and the security industry creating the premium conference program. The second Registered Traveler Forum went live under the patronage of Minister E.M.H. Hirsch Ballin, who addressed the audience with a speech only three days after signing the first transatlantic deal with the American government for an international RT program.
Milan, May 28th, 2008 – Wise Media’s
Registered Traveler Forum opened its doors with the
endorsement of the European Commission and the Dutch
Ministry of Justice on May 22 and May 23 in Amsterdam.
The event welcomed an array of world-class panelists
to discuss how to improve passenger clearance procedures
carried out in airports world-wide with the objective
of increasing security while facilitating travel. The
conference attracted 165 high-profile delegates from
5 continents for an extensive exchange of know-how with
the key decision makers behind today’s RT programs..
During the opening session of the Registered
Traveler Forum conference, Minister E.M.H. Hirsch Ballin
and John P. Wagner, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
addressed the audience to illustrate the details of
the deal signed only three days prior to the event on
May 19, by the U.S. and Dutch governments, for the first
transatlantic Registered Traveler program. The first
day of the conference discussed the big picture surrounding
RT programs today and the point of view of the different
stakeholders involved, with major airport authorities
and system integrators from different continents sharing
their experiences. The day closed with a panel discussing
Entry/Exit systems in Europe and in U.S., involving
Troy D. Potter, International Biometrics Manager, US-VISIT
Program, and Pasi Nokelainen, DG JLS, European Commission.
The second day offered seven breakout sessions focusing
on passenger clearance processes from both government
and transportation industry perspectives, describing
how global trends today lead towards automated border
control and automated airport operations.
The Registered Traveler conference saw
the active contribution of a significant number of high-profile
delegates from organizations such as the U.S. Government
Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry
of Justice, the UK Home Office, the German Federal Ministry
of Interior, Lufthansa, Air France, Swissport International,
Ben Gurion Airport, Schiphol Airport, IATA and SITA.
“Perfect organization, excellent agenda
with high-level speakers. Just the right environment
for profitable networking,” commented Alessandra Girardo
of Unisys, one of the sponsors of the event. Among the
speakers, Peter Went of WCC Smart Search & Match added
“It was a very successful event; very interesting presentations,
great audience and many good networking opportunities.
And as always, a flawless organization! I have already
booked my flight to Milan for November.” A satisfied
G. William, Australian Customs and Registered Traveler
Forum delegate commented, “Very thought-provoking; good
breadth of material, well organized and good value.
Well done!”
Produced by Wise Media, this year’s event
was the second Registered Traveler Forum, following
last year’s successful launch in Paris.
The Registered Traveler Forum was sponsored
by IBM, Thales, Unisys and Dartagnan. Among the exhibitors
and vendors participating at the event were 3M, AOptix
Technologies, Daon, Dermalog Identification Systems,
GenKey, IBM, KSW Microtec, Laser Memory Card, LG Electronics,
Lumidigm, Sagem Sécurité, Thales, TST Biometrics, Unisys
and Vision-Box.
In the 2008 calendar of ID WORLD events,
the Registered Traveler Forum is the second appointment
following February’s Citizen ID Forum held in Abu Dhabi
under the patronage of the Minister of Interior of the
United Arab Emirates, H.H. Sheik Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The third appointment of the year will be ID WORLD 2008,
the seventh annual summit on automatic identification.
The valuable discussions that took place
in Amsterdam at the Registered Traveler Forum will continue
at the next Transportation Security Forum, which opens
its doors at the ID WORLD International Congress, the
annual world summit on automatic identification, in
Milan on November 18 - 20, 2008 (www.idworldonline.com).
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