IBMATA chair Tony Smith highlighted the critical importance of intelligence sharing in border management in his address to one of the great British academic institutions on 9.10.2017.

Speaking to the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum (MENAF), Smith set out some of the significant challenges facing border agencies with volume, complexity and risk all rising against a backdrop of political uncertainty and decreasing investment.

Together with Professor Matthew Goodwin, Professor in Politics at the University of Kent and Fellow at Chatham House, and Dr Elif Cetin, Associate Professor at Yasar University in Izmir Turkey, Smith was addressing a group of graduate and post-graduate students on the issue of ‘Brexit, Borders and Beyond’.

He recounted some of his experiences working in senior government positions in North America during the 9/11 period and in the UK during the 7/7 period, and how government policies in border management had changed as a result.

He also pointed to lessons learned from the 9/11 attacks that had not been learned in the EU in advance of the Paris attacks in 2015, and stressed the importance of data management and intelligence sharing across the border management community both at home and abroad.

Smith said:

“It is important that we bring together a broad church of communities to help us overcome the very significant challenges that border agencies are facing in the modern world.

“Academia has a key role to play. Some of the brightest and best minds in the world need to engage in the debate, so I am delighted that Cambridge has  hosting this discussion.”

Following the presentations the panel held an interactive session with the audience, covering a range of issues including the EU migrant crisis, the changing political environment in Europe and post Brexit Border options.

Find out more about MENAF at www.cmenaf.org.