UN/LOCODE is a five-character coding system that provides a representation for the names of ports, airports, inland clearance depots, inland freight terminals and other transport-related locations which are used for the movement of goods in trade. Its specification can be found in UNECE Recommendation 16. UN/LOCODE is used extensively throughout the world, primarily by the international trade community. The development and maintenance of UN/LOCODE is provided by UNECE as a service to governments and the trade community in the framework of its trade facilitation efforts. The UNECE secretariat publishes the UN/LOCODE directories twice a year, free of charge, on the UNECE website.

As one result of an increase in global trade and the development of ICT and logistics, UN/LOCODE is now widely used both in paper trade documents and in electronic information exchange. What’s more, the use of UN/LOCODE has been extended to new areas, for example to maritime security and environmental protection, with new stakeholders such as International Maritime Organization, Universal Postal Union and European Maritime Safety Agency.

In order to capture business needs and discuss how to improve UN/LOCODE, a conference was held on 24 April 2015 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva. At this meeting, participants requested that a UN/LOCODE Conference be organized on a regular basis. As a result, UNECE is organizing the UN/LOCODE Conference 2016 in parallel to the 27th UN/CEFACT Forum on 28 April 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The UN/LOCODE Conference 2016 will bring together stakeholders from the UN/LOCODE User Community, including government administrations, private sector companies and their industry associations, and international organizations to discuss the technological and strategic framework in which UN/LOCODE will be used in the future and issues relating to the maintenance and further development of this standard.

The morning session is open to all interested stakeholders. This session will be centred on the need to register and identify “areas” as well as location points in international trade and transport transactions, as well as on the use of UN/LOCODE in the maritime industry. “Areas” could be, for example, metropolitan areas, fishery management zones, agriculture production zones or traffic control areas. The session aims to establish the needs and importance of identifying these “areas” and their possible relationship to UN/LOCODE.

The afternoon session is focused on the UN/LOCODE maintenance. As the first meeting of the UN/LOCODE Maintenance Group, it will discuss important issues related to UN/LOCODE maintenance. In particular, as follow-up to last year’s UN/LOCODE Conference, a UN/LOCODE Focal Point Network is in the process of being established. All UN/LOCODE Focal Points and key stakeholders who are interested in the Maintenance Group are welcome to participate in this session.

Participants
We are encouraging participation from all interested representatives of the UN/LOCODE User Community, including the public sector and private sector; UN/LOCODE National Focal Points from countries and Institutional Focal Points from international organizations; UN/CEFACT experts; and Representatives from the Missions.

09:00 - 10:00  Registration

10:00 - 10:20  Opening Session:  Welcome addresses
This session will begin with an opening address by Ms. Virginia Cram-Martos, Director of Economic Cooperation and Trade Division and a welcome address by Mr. Lance Thompson, Chair of UN/CEFACT.

10:20 – 10:40  Session 1: Information sharing on UN/LOCODE development and follow-up to the last Conference
The Secretariat will report on UN/LOCODE development and follow-up to the last UN/LOCODE Conference in April 2015, including the establishment of a UN/LOCODE Focal Point Network, a pilot project for mapping locations with UN/LOCODE as a map layer, planned actions, etc.

10:40 – 11:40  Session 2: Non-point geographic object concept in UN/LOCODE
This session will discuss the need to register and identify “areas” in international trade and transport transactions. “Areas” could be, for example, a location such as a metropolitan area, fishery management zones, agriculture production zones or traffic control areas. Unlike a location with a facility, such as an airport, a railway station or a port, which is easy to locate by coordinates, a non-point geographic object uses a different concept to identify a location. The session aims to establish the needs and importance of identifying these “areas” and their possible relation to UN/LOCODE. 

11:40 – 12:30  Session 3: UN/LOCODE in the maritime industry: Port facility/terminal code system
This session will present how UN/LOCODE is used in the maritime industry.

12:30 - 13:00  Wrap-up
Mediator: Dr. Lance Thompson, Chair of UN/CEFACT

15:00 - 17:30  Special Session : First meeting of the UN/LOCODE Maintenance Group
This session will focus on the establishment of the UN/LOCODE Maintenance Group to decide issues related to UN/LOCODE maintenance

15:00 - 15:45 Presentation

15:45 - 17:00 Round-table discussion
Moderator: Ms. Sue Probert, UN/CEFACT

17:00 - 17:30 Wrap-up
Moderator: Ms. Sue Probert, UN/CEFACT