Inside the International Border Management & Technologies Association (IBMATA) Europe Summit 2026: WWDCS on the Future of Border Security 

What does it take to shift border security from reacting to threats to anticipating them? That question sat at the centre of this year’s International Border Management & Technologies Association (IBMATA) Europe Summit, held 22–24 June in Lisbon – and WWDCS was there to help answer it. 

WWDCS sponsored and exhibited at the Summit, represented by Chairman Frank Doherty and Director Dave Harmon, engaging across three days of discussion with senior government officials, border agencies, and security leaders from across Europe. Conversations repeatedly returned to the same pressure points: migration management, cross‑border crime, and the accelerating move toward intelligence‑led operations. 

Dave delivered a featured presentation, “The Future: Moving from Reactive to Proactive Borders,” drawing on WWDCS’ experience delivering integrated security solutions in complex, high‑consequence environments. His session explored one of the Summit’s most prominent themes: the widening gap between acquiring new technology and embedding it into day‑to‑day operational practice – and what closing that gap truly demands from agencies and their partners. 

WWDCS attended alongside partner Critec Group, represented by CEO Mark Hobday and Operations Director Andy Thompson, continuing a collaboration focused on delivering practical, integrated security solutions to the border management sector. 

If there was one takeaway from the IBMATA Europe Summit 2026, it is that technology alone does not solve border security challenges. People, process, and integration do – and that is where WWDCS places its focus.