Organizer(s): ESCWA GCC Stat FCSC United Arab Emirates
Description: ESCWA, in collaboration with the Gulf Cooperation Council Statistical Center (GCC-Stat) and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, are organizing a national workshop to enhance disability statistics in the United Arab Emirates. The workshop aims to strengthen national capacities in producing, analysing and disseminating high-quality disability statistics in line with international standards and the Sustainable Development Goals. Participants discuss methodological frameworks, review data sources, and explore ways to ensure the consistency and comparability of disability data across different sectors. The workshop provides an opportunity to share experiences and identify practical steps to support evidence-based policymaking and inclusive development planning.
Organizer(s): ESCWA League of Arab States TDGRA UAE
Description: ESCWA, in cooperation with the League of Arab States and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates, is convening the Fourth Arab Consultative Conference on the World Summit on the Information Society +20 (WSIS+20) Review Process. The conference provides an open forum for Arab governments, stakeholders, and regional and international partners to discuss the zero draft resolution on WSIS+20, issued in August 2025. The main objectives are to unify regional viewpoints, gather input from Arab countries on key issues, and strengthen the Arab contribution to upcoming negotiations before the final United Nations General Assembly resolution is adopted in December 2025. Building on the outcomes of three previous rounds of Arab consultations held between 2024 and 2025, this conference aims to develop coordinated regional perspectives that will help guide global discussions related to the review process.
Description: Webinar 1 - 7 Nov 2024 Webinar 2 - 12 Dec 2024 Symposium - 20-22 Jan 2025 - Dubai, UAE The Data Science Leaders Network (DSLN) and the United Nations Network of Economic Statisticians are organizing a Sprint focused on enhancing NSOs' capabilities in leveraging AI and data science for economic statistics. Through a series of preparatory webinars and an international symposium in Dubai, this event will showcase impactful use cases, explore generative AI applications, and address strategic issues around data privacy, ethical AI, and cross-domain integration. Driven by the goals of the SNA 2025, this Sprint promises to be a pivotal step in empowering the statistical community to harness cutting-edge technologies and shape the future of economic data production and dissemination.
Description: The CRVS Applied Research Training (CART) Initiative focuses on enhancing CRVS systems through supporting applied research on strategies, interventions, and tools. This project aims to strengthen the capacity of CRVS practitioners to conduct high quality relevant research. The first workshop was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 26 to 30 August 2024. The agenda is attached.
Description: The 8th meeting of the Joint Technical Committee and the Core Research and Technical Cooperation Mechanism (JTC/CRTCM) is being held to provide a quick overview of the key actions taken by ESCWA and the League of Arab States since the previous meeting to support the implementation of the Arab Digital Agenda. The meeting is aimed at clarifying the roles of the JTC, CRTCM and Arab countries in driving the implementation and achievement of the Arab Digital Agenda's objectives. It focuses on the contributions of Arab countries through the alignment of national digital development agendas with the regional digital agenda, and highlights the pioneering initiatives of Oman and the United Arab Emirates in this field.
Organizer(s): UNSD FCSC United Arab Emirates Road & Transport Authority United Arab Emirates
Description: Integrating data science into the production of official statistics to inform and enhance efficacy of policy decisions, with a special focus on the transport sector. Get practical insights into human-centric transformation of transport information systems and see how modern transportation information systems play a pivotal role in designing and implementing sustainable transportation policies utilizing new data sources and technologies. The second sprint of the Data Science Leaders Network will focus on developing a detailed outline of a playbook to integrate data science into National Statistical Offices. The International seminar will also feature a workshops on Mobile Phone Data in transport statistics and hands-on GIS training for SDGs.
Description: This side event on “Integrating Natural Capital Accounting and Climate Change” was organized by the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) during the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai. The event was moderated by the Scientific Director of BC3 and included interventions by representatives from the IMF and the World Bank, who emphasized the importance of using the harmonized methodology of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) in support of informing climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and the role of capacity building to support countries to develop the necessary information. The event was opened with a message by the UNSD Director, who underlined the strengths of the SEEA in linking environmental and economic information to support decision-making in a statistical framework endorsed by the international statistical community through the UN Statistical Commission. Tools such as ARIES for SEEA, developed by BC3 in collaboration with UNSD, can facilitate the implementation of the SEEA in countries by providing easily accessible data and models that are consistent with SEEA. More information on the side event is available here
Description: The price statistics team at ESCWA has developed annual production of regional purchasing power parity (PPP) estimates and forecasts based on collected price data; a harmonized consumer price index (HCPI) which enables the comparison of inflation levels between different Arab countries and regional inflation rates; sub-national purchasing power parities that compare the different purchasing powers of the local currency and the cost of living between regions of the same country; and the application of big data tools in the collection of price data, such as web scraping, automated price extraction tools and scanner data. A capacity-building workshop on price statistics, survey implementation and modernization is being held for the United Arab Emirates Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre and the local statistical offices of the different Emirates. The workshop includes:
Description: The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC) of the UAE together with the United Nations Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics (UN-CEBD) welcome the world to explore data science and big data during a three-day event at Expo 2020. FCSC also invites everyone to witness the ceremonial launch of the Regional Hub for Big Data and Data Science in UAE, which serves the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.
