This seminar will provide perspectives on the advances in the application of geographical information systems and their use in statistics. Geography is key to National Statistics and it provides the structure for collecting, processing, storing and aggregating the data. The framework provided by geography is often the only factor different datasets have in common. There are many different geographic unit types (administrative, health, electoral, etc) and their boundaries frequently do not align. Inconsistent geography has made it extremely challenging to produce and compare meaningful statistics over time. However, there are various initiatives, policies and products which are designed to address this issue. These resources promote a harmonized, cross-departmental approach to the geographic aspect of statistics.

Organizer: UNSD, IBGE, ESRI

Seminar Programme/Agenda
8:45 -9:30am	ESRI: Environmental Systems Research Institute Advances in the Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Presenter: Carmelle Terborgh: Global Affairs/Federal Account Manager - ESRI Washington DC This presentation will focus on the advances in the use of GIS for census and statistical applications. Different innovative software solutions used in statistics offices will be presented and discussed.
9:30- 9:45am	Comments: Luiz Paulo Souto Fortes- Director of Geosciences, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografica e Estatistica (IBGE)
9:45-10:00am	Questions and general discussion