Description: The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world. It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities especially the setting of statistical standards, the development of concepts and methods and their implementation at the national and international level. The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
Description: The Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was established to provide the leadership to ensure that geospatial information and resources are coordinated, maintained, accessible and able to be leveraged by Member States and society to find sustainable solutions for social, economic, and environmental development. The Committee provides a forum for coordination and dialogue with and among Member States and relevant international organizations on enhanced cooperation in the field of global geospatial information management for the achievement of its operations focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF), to strengthen and ensure its continued effectiveness and benefits to all Member States.
Description: <p>Within this context, the UN Statistics Division is organizing an expert group meeting on the use of non-traditional data sources and data integration for the SDGs. More specifically, the meeting will :</p><ul><li> Review national and global practices on the use of non-traditional data sources and an integration of data sources for SDGs; </li> <li> Review progress and provide guidance in piloting and implementing the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data;</li><li> Review and provide input to the draft guideline on the quality framework for non-traditional data sources and integrated data sources; </li><li> Seek guidance on a roadmap in supporting countries on the use of non-traditional data sources and data integration.</li></ul>
Description: <p>Within this context, the Collaborative on Citizen Data is organizing a one-day workshop on citizen data. The workshop aims to familiarize participants with the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data; and facilitate an exchange of experiences and peer-learning on leveraging citizen data for public policy, including challenges faced and lessons learnt on how to overcome the challenges. Some of the topics that will be covered include, but not limited to</p><ul><li> Data collection and validation</li><li> The use of citizen data for public policy</li><li> Quality assurance</li><li> Ethical considerations and rights-based approach to data</li><li>Collaboration between civil society organization (CSO) and state institutions including national statistical offices (NSO) and trust-building</li></ul>
Description: Assessing the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and its contribution to the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.
Target Audience: The Commission is composed of 47 Member States elected by the Economic and Social Council for a period of four years on the basis of geographic distribution. Representatives should have a relevant background in population and development.
Description: <p>Half-way through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and despite improvements, critical gender data gaps still exist across the SDGs in terms of geographic coverage, timeliness and the level of disaggregation required. Intensified efforts need to be made to fill those gaps. The Agenda 2030 asks that follow-up and review processes at all levels should be open, inclusive, participatory and transparent for all people and support the reporting by all relevant stakeholders. Therefore, the successful as well as gender-sensitive implementation and monitoring of the Agenda needs the engagement of citizens, with particular attention to the voices of the poorest and most vulnerable – more often, women and girls.</p><p>Registration</p>
Description: This webinar aims to explore cutting-edge approaches for handling sensitive microdata while preserving privacy. Experts will discuss state-of-the-art techniques, real-world applications, and collaborative efforts across international projects. Join us for insightful presentations, engaging discussions, and an open Q&A session.
Organizer(s): UNSD Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data World Bank UNDP SDSN TReNDS
Description: This session, jointly organized by the core partners, will share the progress made thus far, as well as the initiative’s future strategic direction. Countries will share concrete work on implementing innovative approaches on their prioritized areas and its link to the national decision-making needs supported through the initiative. This dynamic session will also provide information on how the Data for Now initiative aims to help implement the Power of Data High-Impact initiative, launched at the SDG summit in September 2023, that aims to mobilize political leadership and investment to strengthen data systems and scale progress between now and 2030.
Description: This side-event will provide heads of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and other participants of the 55th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) with insights into the Productive Capacities Index (PCI), which was developed by UNCTAD, as well as details of its statistical or methodological rigor and policy relevance for economic and social development. It will provide further information on the relevant background and underlying concepts related to the PCI. The event will also deliver updates on the outcomes of the Statistical and Technical Advisory Group on the PCI (STAG) meeting held in February 2023, highlighting the progress and challenges encountered in the maintenance and updates of the PCI. Attendees are encouraged to provide feedback and guidance on the PCI in the lead up to the next meetings of the STAG, as well as the High-level Advisory Board, which oversees the conceptual framework underpinning the PCI.
Description: The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world. It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities especially the setting of statistical standards, the development of concepts and methods and their implementation at the national and international level. The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
Organizer(s): UNWTO Statistik Austria INE Spain UNCEEA
Description: UN Tourism, Statistics Austria, the National Statistics Institute of Spain, are jointly organizing in collaboration with UNCEEA, a high-level side event titled "Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism: Bridging the Gap between Policy and Statistics". This event will be held on Tuesday, 27 February 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the auspices of the 55th session of the United Nations Commission. Back on the agenda of the United Nations Statistical Commission since 2017, tourism statistics has undergone important developments amidst particularly challenging times for the sector. This side event will introduce the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism, present pioneering country experiences that showcase its relevance and feasibility, and reflect on the lessons learnt from the integration of economic, environmental and social dimensions that characterize the framework.
Description: The event "New challenges for national statistical offices for environment and climate change statistics: Role of the SEEA" is organized as a side event of the 55th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) will tentatively be held on Tuesday , 27 February 2023, from 13:15 to 13:30 in New York. This side event will review new and emerging demands for environmental and economic information that are being faced at global, regional and national levels. It will identify ways that the statistical community can address these demands through existing SEEA frameworks, as well as identify areas which could be addressed through an update of the SEEA Central Framework (CF) in order to make the SEEA CF more responsive to the new demands.
Description: What is digital trade? And what action can countries take to measure, monitor, and respond to the challenges of digital trade? Digital technologies have made it increasingly feasible for buyers and sellers to place and receive orders globally. They also enable the remote delivery of services directly into businesses and homes. Digitalization is changing how products are purchased and delivered. Yet, it remains largely invisible in macroeconomic statistics. This side-event to the 55th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission introduces the newly released IMF-OECD-UNCTAD-WTO Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade and showcases several key measurement approaches. Its goal is to help statistical compilers across the world to address policymakers’ demands for better statistics on digital trade, and to ensure that developing economies are not left behind. Focusing on two key criteria – digital ordering and digital delivery across borders – the Handbook clarifies the definition of digital trade, reviews best data sources, and presents advances by countries in the measurement of digital trade. The Handbook thereby establishes a valuable shared foundation for understanding and measuring digital trade in a way that is consistent with the broader macroeconomic statistics and internationally comparable. Furthermore, it provides a crucial resource for an active programme of technical assistance and statistical capacity-building, through which the four co-authoring partner organizations can support statistical compilers as they seek to measure, monitor and respond to the challenges of digital trade. Side-events are open to all registered delegates to the 55th session of the UNSC. Speakers Mr. Bert Kroese, Chief Statistician, Data officer, and Director of Statistics, IMF. Ms. Anu Peltola, Acting Director of Statistics, UNCTAD. Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician, Malaysia. Mr. Paul Schreyer, Chief Statistician and Director of Statistics and Data, OECD. Mr. Vipin Arora, Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis, United States.
Description: <p>The High-level Forum on Official Statistics, an annual event of the Statistical Commission, is a pivotal event commemorating the 30th and 10th anniversaries of the adoption of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) by the UN Statistical Commission and the General Assembly, respectively. This forum, more than just a seminar, is a tribute to the significant milestones achieved and a proactive step towards shaping the future of official statistics, guided by the FPOS.</p><p>Titled "Empowering Official Statistics - Upholding the Fundamental Principles to Stay Relevant," this High-level Forum represents the culmination of a series of global initiatives, including expert consultations, collaborations with statistical associations, webinars, workshops, and international conferences. These efforts have been crucial in enhancing the understanding of the FPOS within an ever-evolving data ecosystem, setting the stage for the 55th session of the Statistical Commission to celebrate the global endorsement of these principles.</p>
Description: The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) promotes interagency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development. As a forum of committed members it fosters good practices in statistical activities of international organisations, in accordance with the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities, and within the constraints of their own governance arrangements and resource envelopes. The members of the CCSA are committed to contribute actively to the development of a coordinated global statistical system producing and disseminating high-quality statistics, e.g. by facilitating the development and well functioning of regional and national statistical systems.
Description: The High-level Forum on Official Statistics, an annual event of the Statistical Commission, is a pivotal event commemorating the 30th and 10th anniversaries of the adoption of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) by the UN Statistical Commission and the General Assembly, respectively. This forum, more than just a seminar, is a tribute to the significant milestones achieved and a proactive step towards shaping the future of official statistics, guided by the FPOS. Titled 'Empowering Official Statistics - Upholding the Fundamental Principles to Stay Relevant,' this High-level Forum represents the culmination of a series of global initiatives, including expert consultations, collaborations with statistical associations, webinars, workshops, and international conferences. These efforts have been crucial in enhancing the understanding of the FPOS within an ever-evolving data ecosystem, setting the stage for the 55th session of the Statistical Commission to celebrate the global endorsement of these principles. The event will be structured into two main segments. The first segment, 'Celebrating Milestones,' will explore the genesis and historical importance of the FPOS in fostering trust and credibility in official statistics. Esteemed speakers will provide thoughtful interventions, tracing the journey of the FPOS and examining their impact on monitoring Sustainable Development Goals and other regional and national development policies, emphasizing how the FPOS have been instrumental in shaping national statistical systems and establishing data integrity and public confidence in statistical outputs over the years. The second segment, 'Shaping the Future of Official Statistics,' will begin with introductory speeches, followed by a dynamic panel discussion. This segment will embark on an exploratory journey, examining how the FPOS can guide Official Statistics in navigating challenges and seizing opportunities in a rapidly changing data ecosystem, highlighting its role as a reliable and adaptable source of information. The discussion will also consider how the Terms of Reference for the Independent Advisory Board and the commented outline of the revitalized FPOS implementation guidelines, submitted for discussion and approval at the 55th session of the Statistical Commission, might contribute to their broad implementation. The High-level Forum will conclude with an open debate, offering a unique opportunity for attendees to engage with the topics, share insights, and contribute to the dialogue.
Description: <p>Citizen participation throughout the data value chain is increasingly recognized in addressing data gaps for marginalized communities and enhancing data fairness, inclusiveness, openness, accountability and transparency. As the global community strives to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and increase the impact of data, the insights derived from the lived experiences and perspectives of citizens are indispensable in decision-making. However, leveraging citizen data and making it fit for policymaking encounters various challenges. These include the lack of trust between state and non-state actors, data quality and sustainability, and capacity constraints faced by civil society organisations and communities in data production.</p><p> Registration link: https://forms.office.com/e/ZhM0idTZdK.</p>
Description: The Committee of the Chief Statisticians of the United Nations System promotes coherent and integrated system-wide United Nations actions to support statistics at the national, regional and international levels, following the principles governing international statistical activities, adopted by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities in 2005, and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted by the General Assembly in 2015. Taking into account the comparative advantages of each member, the Committee encourages coordinated efforts by United Nations agencies and programmes in strengthening national statistical capacity through the definition of common approaches and joint interventions. The Committee supports in particular the modernization of national statistical systems and the reinforcement of their capacity to respond to new data demands for underpinning evidence-based policymaking, including the monitoring of global, regional and national development goals. Recognizing that national needs and priorities should guide the United Nations system’s efforts to support national statistical systems, the Committee supports the development and full implementation of international statistical standards in member States for the production of high-quality and internationally comparable data. The Committee promotes the coordination of the statistical programmes of the United Nations system entities with the aim of “delivering as one”, by fostering synergies, avoiding duplication and overlap, and facilitating data exchange. It promotes the adoption of common quality criteria to drive the statistical production of all agencies of the United Nations system and supports the sharing of knowledge and good practices. It also defines common United Nations positions on statistical matters, to be reported at the Statistical Commission or at other coordination bodies, such as the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities.
Organizer(s): UNSD Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data World Bank UNDP SDSN TReNDS
Description: This closed meeting will review the progress of the implementation of activities with Data For Now participating countries, core and implementing partners, and donors involved under the Data For Now initiative. Participants will exchange on successes of the work, challenges faced, and how we can work together to improve the progress on activities. The meeting will also discuss the impact of the work, the sustainability aspect, and the priorities ahead.
Description: The Friday Seminar on Emerging Issues was established as a space for the global statistical community to explore emerging issues. It is a place which serves as a learning environment where statisticians come together with specialists and experts to explore innovative topics and address the interplay between official statistics and the broader data ecosystem. Data governance can be described as the policies, guidelines, standards, procedures and practices that regulate the generation, management, use and reuse of data. It addresses the overarching vision for data within a system and how it is shared, accessed and integrated while mitigating risks and maintaining trust. The implementation of data governance strategies differs across domains and is dependent on national practices. It is essential for the global statistical community as the data space evolves in a dynamic fashion to discuss different ways of handling data governance and explore commonalities that can help define the role and the strategies of the national statistical offices within the larger landscape of data governance across the whole system. Data governance has been discussed across various groups at the national and international levels. It applies to data within the private and public sectors and on how data is exchanged between them. The Statistical Commission focuses on official statistics and is the primary body for the coordination of the global statistical programmes in general and of the United Nations statistical and data-related system. In 2022, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations requested the Commission to play the role as the apex for discussions, knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices on statistics and data across all domains, to develop and maintain international statistical standards and norms, tools and methodologies, to support and bolster the development of sustainable national statistical systems, to develop and build the capacity of national systems, to advocate for the professional community of official statistics, and to ensure continued innovations to adapt to the changing statistical and data system. The 2022 update to the terms of references of the Commission emphasizes the need for technological innovations, the promotion of practices for the generation of information aligned with principles that ensure coherence, comparability, data privacy, among others, and the importance to build partnerships. This calls for a better, more thorough understanding of how governance of data applies across the system.
Description: This meeting follows-up on the request of the Commission to develop additional materials and guidance to support countries in the implementation of a national quality assurance framework and to address relevant issues such as quality assurance when administrative or other data sources are used to produce official statistics. Specifically, the meeting will work on the finalization of draft guidance on the use of administrative and other data sources and draft guidance on the implementation of a quality culture. The meeting will address remaining issues and amend the existing draft materials as required and prepare a worldwide consultation on them. The meeting will also review the status and possible development of guidance and tools on other issues and review the further workplan of the Expert Group.
Description: The Second United Nations Expert Group Meeting on the Revision of the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses is organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in New York from 13 to 15 December 2023. The main objective of the Expert Group meeting is to review the draft version of the Principles and Recommendations for the 2030 round. The Expert Group, which was established for the purpose of overseeing the revision of the Principles and Recommendations, held its first meeting virtually from 23 to 25 May 2023. The Expert Group set up seven Task Teams — corresponding to seven themes identified by the Expert Group as critical for the revision — to carry out the work of revising components of the publication. The meeting will review the draft version of the Principles and Recommendations with a view to bringing it in line with good practices and contemporary approaches to conducting population and housing censuses. A multitude of changes have been documented in the current census round pertaining to the use of technologies, adoption of multi-modal data collection, and utilization of administrative data sources. Many countries had to innovate to overcome the challenges of conducting censuses during the global COVID-19 pandemic. As a reference publication, the revised Principles and Recommendations will reflect the innovations made and the experiences collected thus far and provide comprehensive guidance to national statistical authorities for planning, organizing, conducting, and utilizing 2030 round population and housing censuses. It is expected that the next revision of the Principles and Recommendations will be submitted for endorsement by the Statistical Commission at its 56th session in 2025.
Description: The Expert Group Meeting on the Synergies between Census, CRVS Systems and Administrative Records: Implications for the 4th revision to the UN Principles and Recommendations on Population and Housing Censuses is co-organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The meeting is to be held in New York from 11 to 12 December 2023. The expert group meeting will bring together experts from National Statistics Offices, CRVS Systems, and international organizations to review insights, experiences and lessons from recent census rounds and ongoing efforts to strengthen CRVS systems. The objective of the expert group meeting is to synthesize lessons and insights from recent census and CRVS efforts to guide the updating of the UN Principles and Recommendations on Population and Housing Censuses (Revision 4) in the following areas: i) the assessment of the completeness and quality of vital event registration data and identity management system data using census data; ii) the leveraging of administrative records from CRVS systems and related administrative registers for the production of census operations and census data; and, iii) the use of censuses to measure human mobility including international migration, internal displacement and refugee stocks and flows.
Description: The UN Committee of Experts on International Statistical Classifications is the central coordination body for the work on international statistical classifications that are the responsibility of the Statistics Division, and for the coordination and review of other international statistical classifications that are the responsibility of other international organizations and that have been proposed for adoption by the Statistical Commission.
Description: UNSD participated in an event on privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), which brought together private sector, civil society and public sector experts. The main themes of the event were (1) how to unlock the power of sensitive data while protecting privacy, (2) ensure compliance with data protection regulations, and (3) accelerate R&D and AI development to improve business practices by ensuring that data collaboration and sharing across teams and organizations is secure and private. UNSD contributed to a panel discussion by explaining how national statistical agencies are exploring the benefits and challenges of using PETs to access, share and disseminate data. The UN PET Guide for official statistics was recently released. It provides guidance on the reasons why PETs can improve the delivery of services of statistical agencies, on the available methods for input and output privacy, and on the legal considerations which are in play when using PETs. Moreover, the PET Guide describes in detail 18 use cases which exemplify how PETs can be used in practice. One use case was described on combining education statistics with student financial aid, and one on the verification of detailed cross-border trade statistics between trading countries. As an outcome of this event, additional experts on PETs (from private sector and civil society) may join the UN PET Lab of the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics.
Description: Geospatial information now underpins everything we do. All countries and all sectors need geospatial information to address national priorities, for national development and for decision-making. Its full integration with other data of relevance to our lives is key to providing better information and shared understanding, which in turn enables us to better achieve local, national, and global goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, COVID-19 recovery, and our climate agenda. However, while the links and the digital divide between the global development agendas and the application of timely and reliable geospatial information and enabling technologies have been identified and documented by UN-GGIM, transitioning and 'accelerating' these key capabilities to 'implementation reality' for many countries is complex and remains ongoing. Thus, the side event 'Geospatial Information: Accelerating Implementation of the SDGs' is being convened on 17 September 2023 as part of the SDG Acceleration Day, on the SDG Action Weekend 16-17 September 2023. The side event will demonstrate the immense value and utility of geospatial information, as a critical component of a national infrastructure and knowledge economy, providing a blueprint of what happens where, and providing the means to integrate a wide variety of government services that contribute to economic growth, national security, sustainable social development, environmental sustainability, peace, national prosperity and the development agendas and priorities of the United Nations. In particular, participants at the side event will be informed of the following: High-level statements and perspectives on the importance of geospatial information by global leaders from Member States. How UN-GGIM is accelerating implementation of the SDGs through its global programme of work. The critical role of geodesy and positioning in our modern world. How 'on the ground' SDG implementation is being achieved with geospatial information in developing countries. Hear from the 'geospatial voices of Africa' as a shared vision for accelerating implementation of the SDGs with geospatial information.
Organizer(s): UN DESA UNFPA UNDP WHO Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data World Bank
Description: At the SDG Action Weekend on 17 September 2023, UNDESA and partners (UNFPA, UNDP, WHO, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), the World Bank) launched the High Impact Initiative on the Power of Data at the United Nations Headquarters. The event garnered numerous commitments and called on world leaders to invest in better data for driving progress and sustainable development. Speakers included Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the UN; USG Li from UNDESA, and Principals from UNFPA, UNDP, the World Bank, GPSDD; Ashley Judd, Actor and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador; Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder and chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation; ministers from Colombia, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya; officials from all over the world; senior figures from NVIDIA and Microsoft; NGOs; and youth advocates. At the event, the following key issues were discussed: the urgent need and opportunity to fund data systems; the role of data in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; the role of data in driving economic decision making and tackling inequalities; and the role of data in transforming decision making. Commitments made at the event include 15 countries launched cutting-edge National Data Partnerships; The UK made funding commitment of investing over USD 7.5 million to help scale up global support for national data partnerships; and 30 data for development and civil society organizations signed a letter of support for the High Impact Initiative.
Description: The Thirteenth Session of UN-GGIM will be held from 2 - 4 August 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. There are several side events and meetings related to the substantive work of the Committee of Experts which will be convened on 31 July and 1 August 2023, and on the margins of the Thirteenth Session.
Description: The adoption of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and DevelopmentPDF (ICPD), held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994, cemented a people-centred approach to population and development policies, grounded in the respect for human rights and a strong emphasis on environmental sustainability. Subsequently, the Millennium Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development integrated many goals and objectives of the ICPD Programme of Action. In 2014, the General Assembly extended the Programme of Action beyond 2014 with a view to fully meeting its goals and objectives (A/RES/65/234). In 2019, at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Programme of Action, the Secretary-General reported that while considerable progress had been made in implementing the Programme of Action since 1994, progress had been uneven both within and among countries, and the benefits of social and economic progress have not been shared equitably. The report also stated that attaining the goals and objectives of the Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda was a shared responsibility that called for policies and programmes for sustainable development to be grounded in an understanding of population dynamics, including changes in population size or age structure and processes of migration or urbanization. The Commission on Population and Development, at its fifty-seventh session in 2024, will carry out a review and appraisal of the ICPD Programme of Action and its contribution to the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. The timing of this appraisal, 30 years after “Cairo”, is consistent with the five-year cycle of review of the status of implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action carried out by the Commission in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019, respectively. In support of this review and as part of the substantive preparations of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Population and Development, the Population Division of UN DESA will convene an expert group meeting on 19 and 20 July 2023. The meeting will examine progress and gaps in implementing the goals and objectives set out in the ICPD Programme of Action and take stock of the achievement of Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) which are of particular relevance to the global agenda on population and development. Participants will also assess the implications of demographic trends for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2024 Summit of the Future, showcasing global solidarity for future generations.
Description: Hosted by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the Voluntary National Review (VNR) lab will discuss and share experiences, at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) on how non-traditional data, particularly CGD is utilized to support SDG monitoring and the VNRs for evidence-based reporting and will present country experiences from Asia and the Pacific and beyond. It will explore initiatives to improve reporting frameworks and harness the power of citizens to capture and share more data on the SDGs for the VNRs. Interventions will be made by civil society, government, and national statistical office representatives.
Description: On 12 July 2023 from 10 AM to 12 PM (New York Time), FAO and its co-publishing partners will be launching, for the fifth time, the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report at a Special...
Description: The 2023/third session of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) will be convened from 1 to 5 May 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. There will be 10 meetings of the 2023 session and each meeting will be three hours: 10 -1 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. Objectives UNGEGN sessions provide a forum where experts from the interrelated fields of geography, cartography, geospatial information, linguistics and history, from across the world come together to learn and share best practices and norms, new developments in geographical names administration and standardization. The session also highlights the Group's role as an enabler in preserving cultural heritage and where appropriate support relevant aspects of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This session will address the theme "Strengthening relationships, links and connections in geographical names standardization and for sustainable development and pandemic recovery". This theme is not only aligned to the theme of the 2023 ECOSOC High-level Political Forum on sustainable development, but also to UNGEGN's Strategic Plan and Programme of Work 2021-2029, Strategy 2: Relationships, links and connections. Good relationships, links and connections are fundamental to all UNGEGN's strategies and are at the heart of the work of the United Nations. Therefore, it is beneficial to encourage focus on this topic and create a platform through the 2023 session to explore the various types of relationships (formal/informal, organizational/individual) employed by Member States to achieve their goals, and in turn support UNGEGNs vision. Work Programme The Group of Experts has a robust work programme anchored in its Strategic Plan and Programme of Work 2021-2029. The following are some major topics to be addressed during the session: - place names supporting sustainable development, toponymic data management and gazetteers, romanization systems, diversity and inclusion, capacity building in toponymy and geographical names as cultural heritage. Other Activities A series of side events consisting of working groups and divisional meetings, special workshops and an orientation session for new attendees will be held prior to and during the session. We are committed to keeping you, our national representatives, observers and special interest groups informed on the progress of session arrangements. Therefore, we encourage you to continue to monitor this website for updates and announcements.
Description: The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems will be launched during an event that will highlight the relevance of the report’s findings for policy and decision makers, development actors, the...
Description: A Population Commission was established by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 3 (III) of 3 October 1946. In its resolution 49/128 of 19 December 1994, the General Assembly decided that the Commission should be renamed the Commission on Population and Development. In the same resolution, the Assembly decided that it, the Council and the Commission should constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism that would play the primary role in the follow-up to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and that the Commission, as a functional commission assisting the Council, would monitor, review and assess the implementation of the Programme of Action at the national, regional and international levels and advise the Council thereon.
Target Audience: The Commission is composed of 47 Member States elected by the Economic and Social Council for a period of four years on the basis of geographic distribution. Representatives should have a relevant background in population and development.
Description: From 22 to 24 March 2023, FAO Statistics will gather in New York during the UN 2023 Water Conference, which is convened by the UN General Assembly and co-hosted by the...
Description: This side-event will update heads of National statistical offices (NSOs) and other participants of the 54th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) on progress and challenges regarding the measurement of South-South Cooperation (SSC), as part of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 17.3.1 on ‘additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources’and its methodology adopted by the UNSC in March 2022. Thanks to the joint efforts of the South, now for the first time there is a global, voluntary Conceptual Framework to Measure South-South Cooperation. The framework supports national efforts of interested countries to measure both financial and in-kind South-South cooperation flows and inform the SDG indicator with comparable data. UNCTAD is organizing this side-event as part of its role to coordinate future testing and refinement of the framework, and global reporting and capacity building based on it. The work will be carried out under the leadership of Southern countries relying on country-owned mechanisms.
Organizer(s): UNSD Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data Sustainable Development Solutions Network World Bank
Description: This side event, jointly organized by GPSDD, SDSN TReNDS, WB and UNSD, aims to bring together representatives from countries, international agencies, donors, civil society and private sector to 1. Take stock of the work done so far on innovative partnerships and solutions as part of the initiative. 2. Hear from countries on the challenges faced and their plans for sustainability in implementing innovative approaches. 3. Discuss upcoming plans, including expansion to involve more countries and partners.
Organizer(s): UNCTAD UN Women UNSD UNITAR Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
Description: <p>Citizens' contribution to data, broadly defined as the engagement of citizens in multiple processes in the data value chain, from specifying needs to use of the data to inform policy, is increasingly recognized for its unique ability to help overcome many data challenges of our times and in contributing to the inclusiveness of official statistics.</p><p>Citizens’ contribution to data could happen at different levels – global, regional, national, or local. The engagement of citizens can be organized by different stakeholders - scientists, community leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), or individual citizens. Their engagement can contribute to various stages of the data value chain and serve different objectives and contribute to data and policy in many different ways.</p><p>When people—especially those who have been historically excluded from decision making— actively participate in decisions about data collection, design, analysis, and use, they gain greater access to the benefits of data. The official statistical community increasingly recognizes the importance of non-state actors in contributing to the inclusiveness of official statistics.</p>
Description: The 54th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission will be held in person in New York from 28 February to 3 March 2023. Additional information can be found on the Statistical Commission website. There are several in-person side events taking place between 24 February and 3 March 2023. Visit the side events calendar to find out more.
Description: After multiple years of preparation and negotiation, the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF) at its 15th meeting in December 2022. The GBF is an inclusive and transformative agenda for protecting, restoring and sustainably using and managing biodiversity and ecosystems. The GBF includes a monitoring framework designed to ensure that implementation of the GBF is results-oriented and can be monitored in a transparent manner. The monitoring framework presents a clear recognition of the role of official statistics and national statistical offices in developing and implementing the framework, as well as the role of statistical standards such as the SEEA in providing high-quality, relevant and coherent data. An ad hoc technical expert group will be established to advise on further operationalization of the monitoring framework and presents a unique opportunity to ensure that nationally owned official statistics on the environment and economy can contribute to national and global monitoring efforts. This in-person high-level side event will provide an opportunity for official statisticians and policymakers to come together to discuss the critical role of national statistical offices in the success of the GBF.
Description: There is clear demand from policy makers, governments, academics and the public to move the statistical measurement framework beyond gross domestic product (GDP), which primarily focuses on economic performance. While traditional measures of economic performance will always have a place, there is a gap between the information contained in GDP and what counts for people’s well-being. Responding to the beyond GDP agenda will require a combination of economic, environmental and social measures that go beyond measures of market activity and include measures centred on people’s well-being, and sustainability of the environment, making the contribution of nature to our well-being explicit. The aim would be to inform various policy goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and, in the context of accounting for people’s well-being, to address the call by the Secretary-General for new measures of progress to complement GDP. In addition, the Secretary General acknowledged the role of implementing the System of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA) and said: "This is a historic step towards transforming how we view and value nature. We will no longer be heedlessly allowing environmental destruction and degradation to be considered economic progress." Going beyond GDP is not to redefine the current sets of indicators, but to identify accounts and indicators so that countries can produce internationally comparable statistics that provide important information for policymakers that go beyond measures of economic performance. While the theme of "Beyond GDP" has a broad scope, this event will first present the need for broader measures of progress and will introduce measures such as a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI) to assess the vulnerability of small island states as well as other countries; and measures that go beyond the narrow focus on economic growth towards what counts for people and the planet. The event is organized along two panels one representing the users needs for measures beyond GDP and the other presenting how national statistical offices have responded to these demands. In particular, the two panels will address the need for: Measures of social and demographic developments to complement measures of economic performance. Some countries have been pioneers and have done inspiring work in terms of the distribution of income and welfare measures, unpaid household service work, generational distribution of wealth and systems of quality of life statistics Measuring the contribution of nature to our wellbeing – The SEEA has been adopted as an international statistical standard and it is being used to supporting various policy frameworks being implemented in over 90 countries; In the context of updating the 2008 SNA the broadening of the national accounts’ framework to better account for elements affecting well-being and sustainability by describing where the national accounts can contribute to understanding well-being and sustainability, including where the framework can be extended, and where other frameworks such as those from SEEA and demographic and social statistics are required to provide a more comprehensive understanding of these issues.
Description: The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) promotes interagency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development. As a forum of committed members it fosters good practices in statistical activities of international organisations, in accordance with the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities, and within the constraints of their own governance arrangements and resource envelopes. The members of the CCSA are committed to contribute actively to the development of a coordinated global statistical system producing and disseminating high-quality statistics, e.g. by facilitating the development and well functioning of regional and national statistical systems.
Description: The Committee of the Chief Statisticians of the United Nations System promotes coherent and integrated system-wide United Nations actions to support statistics at the national, regional and international levels, following the principles governing international statistical activities, adopted by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities in 2005, and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted by the General Assembly in 2015. Taking into account the comparative advantages of each member, the Committee encourages coordinated efforts by United Nations agencies and programmes in strengthening national statistical capacity through the definition of common approaches and joint interventions. The Committee supports in particular the modernization of national statistical systems and the reinforcement of their capacity to respond to new data demands for underpinning evidence-based policymaking, including the monitoring of global, regional and national development goals. Recognizing that national needs and priorities should guide the United Nations system’s efforts to support national statistical systems, the Committee supports the development and full implementation of international statistical standards in member States for the production of high-quality and internationally comparable data. The Committee promotes the coordination of the statistical programmes of the United Nations system entities with the aim of “delivering as one”, by fostering synergies, avoiding duplication and overlap, and facilitating data exchange. It promotes the adoption of common quality criteria to drive the statistical production of all agencies of the United Nations system and supports the sharing of knowledge and good practices. It also defines common United Nations positions on statistical matters, to be reported at the Statistical Commission or at other coordination bodies, such as the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities.
Description: Session 1: The Role of Data Science in Official Statistics The availability of relevant, timely and usable statistics and indicators is essential for governments to set priorities, make informed decisions and implement better policies. The data science revolution is helping improve the production of those statistics and indicators through new methods, technologies and data sources, such as big data and machine learning. With many National Statistical Offices (NSOs) rapidly expanding their big data and data science capabilities and activities, there is an opportunity to step up international co-operation between NSOs to modernise global and national statistical systems. By sharing knowledge and identifying key priorities at leadership level, NSOs data science leaders can provide strategic vision and leadership to guide the many multilateral cooperation initiatives in this field. A new international and inclusive network for data science leaders can provide insight, strategic advice and secure buy-in to drive innovation, maximize efficiencies and accelerate the integration of statistical production through data science. The Data Science Leaders Network (DSLN) was initiated at the Statistical Commission in March 2022. The DSLN will advance the strategic discussion of key issues concerning the current and future role of NSOs in providing data science services for official statistics on the one hand and to other government agencies on the other. DSLN will also discuss the status of experimental data and indicators, ethical and legal considerations, data sharing and acquisition, the governance of data science research and capability building across government, the code of conduct for data scientists, and the quality framework for big data and data science. It will launch new initiatives and projects, while leaving the execution of those activities to existing groups. DSLN will further provide guidance on areas where capability gaps would justify proactive co-investment among statistical institutes. Session 2: Moving Towards Register-based Censuses: Opportunities and challenges This session of the Friday seminar on Innovation and Modernisation of Official Statistics will bring together Chief Statisticians to discuss the use of administrative data sources for producing population and housing census data. The current round of censuses has been witnessing a growing interest in the use of administrative data sources. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the difficulties caused by it, has accelerated existing initiatives to utilize administrative data sources in a significant number of countries all over the world. There are many reasons for exploring administrative registers for producing census information, including : (a) the need to produce accurate, reliable and more frequent statistics (on a yearly basis); (b) high costs of conducting field enumeration and budgetary limitations for census taking; (c) reluctance of the population to participate in the census (for instance, during the COIVD-19 pandemic); and (d) availability of administrative registers for statistical purposes. On the other hand, there are certain challenges regarding the use of administrative registers, including the quality of existing administrative registers, lack of legal framework for the use of individual records for statistical production, and institutional capacity in establishing and maintaining statistical registers. Changing the design of census processes from the traditional method to one that is relying on administrative data sources is a core part of the strategy of many NSOs to develop a register-based statistical system. This will require a pragmatic shift in the way official statistics are produced. This seminar will discuss the process of transitioning and challenges in planning and managing this process, particularly those related to political and public support; legal framework; engagement of stakeholders; confidentiality issues; operational considerations and strengthening institutional capacity. The seminar will also provide an opportunity to learn from experiences of countries that are at different stages of this transition. Session 3: Towards a framework to harness data by citizens, for citizens and about citizens Citizens' contribution to data, broadly defined as the engagement of citizens in multiple processes in the data value chain, is increasingly recognized as critical to helping overcome many data challenges of our times. In particular, in the context of the 2030 Agenda's principle to ensure that nobody is left behind, citizen data helps fill critical data gaps for groups suffering from data marginalization and increase the extent to which their experiences are reflected in national statistics. In addition to filling data gaps, some citizen data initiatives provide insights into harmful customary practices as well as further advance important values such as fairness, inclusiveness, openness and transparency in statistics. Citizens' contribution to data could happen at different levels - global, regional, national, or local. The engagement of citizens can be organized by different stakeholders - scientists, community leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), or individual citizens. Their engagement can contribute to various stages of the data value chain and serve different objectives and contribute to data and policy in many different ways. The official statistical community also increasingly recognizes the importance of non-state actors in contributing to the inclusiveness of official statistics. For data collection such as censuses and surveys, national statistical offices (NSOs) often partner with CSOs or representatives of marginalized population groups to ensure the inclusiveness of the data and methodology. Unleashing the full potential of citizens for data, however, faces many challenges. These, for example, include the lack of trust between the state and non-state actors, data quality, sustainability and statistical capacity of CSOs, etc. In this context, the United Nations Statistics Division organized an Expert Group Meeting on Harnessing data by citizens for public policy and SDG monitoring: a conceptual framework in November 2022. The meeting discussed different ways that citizens can contribute to data, as well as challenges and opportunities and mechanisms to harness citizens' contribution to fill data gaps and advance fairness, inclusiveness, openness and transparency in statistics. The meeting was attended by representatives from National Statistics Offices (NSOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), academia and regional and international organisations. The meeting agreed that the development of a framework would be an important next step to help conceptualize the different ways citizens can contribute to data and support the formulation of action points for the community to move forward. The meeting also agreed to establish a Collaborative as a platform for collaboration and exchange of experiences and to advance the work in this area.
Description: The 54th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission will be held in person in New York from 28 February to 3 March 2023. Additional information can be found on the Statistical Commission website. There are several in-person side events taking place between 24 February and 3 March 2023. Visit the side events calendar to find out more.
Description: The growing impact of disasters, associated preventive, preparedness and response measures, and the COP27 decision on establishing a Loss and Damage fund, have all necessitated strengthening of the data ecosystem that underscores decision-making. Mandated by the UN Statistical Commission, the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Disaster-related Statistics (IAEG-DRS) is developing recommendations for a common disaster-related statistical framework for the Commission’s consideration in 2024. The framework will enhance rigour in statistical methods, define parameters for internationally comparable data, and help bridge the gap between national statistical offices (NSOs) and national disaster management offices (NDMOs). The side event will feature governments (especially NSOs and NDMOs) and expert organizations from across the world to share their enriching experience and initiatives on disaster-related statistics. Challenges and good practices will be shared, building on the previous IAEG-DRS meetings and Expert Forums on Producers and Users of Disaster-related statistics.
Description: The side event, co-organized by ESCAP UNODC UNCTAD and ECA will showcase success stories in the measurement of IFFs and share key lessons that are critical to regularizing the production of data on SDG 16.4.1. The successes and lessons will be presented by country experts. On 16 November 2022, a resolution by the 2nd Committee of the General Assembly on illicit financial flows recognized the significant progress and availability of concepts and tested methods to measure illicit financial flows and encouraged “all Member States to report on Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.4.1, using the methodology adopted by the Statistical Commission, and called upon the United Nations system entities, international organizations and donors to work in coordination with the custodian agencies to train national statistical offices and other entities in charge of reporting on illicit financial flows on these agreed methods”.
Description: The third Expert Group Meeting aims to continue monitoring the challenges in conducting population and housing censuses during the pandemic. In addition, on day two, the meeting will cover data quality issues that may have arisen due to conducting the census during a pandemic and potential methods to address data quality concerns. Day three of the meeting will provide an opportunity to take a broader approach and discuss lessons learned from conducting censuses during times of crisis and provide recommendations for improving the resilience of future censuses conducted. It is likely that future census operations will have to contend increasing uncertainty due to natural disasters, health emergencies, political instability, or other unforeseen disruptive events. None of these events can be predicted in advance, but contingency planning for the unexpected will be a vital component of delivering a successful census going forward into the 2030 round.
Description: The UN Committee of Experts on International Statistical Classifications is the central coordination body for the work on international statistical classifications that are the responsibility of the Statistics Division, and for the coordination and review of other international statistical classifications that are the responsibility of other international organizations and that have been proposed for adoption by the Statistical Commission. The meeting of the UNCEISC will take place at the Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House, New York from 25 to 28 October 2022. Background notes will be made available in advance of the meeting (approximately two weeks before the actual meeting), containing key questions for discussion during the meeting. Participants are asked to read the background notes in advance of the meeting. This will ensure a focused discussion during each session.
Description: The Centre of Excellence for CRVS systems at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF are pleased to announce that the 3rd global CRVS and Gender Conference will be held in New York on October 17-18, 2022. The conference will be a hybrid conference - i.e. encompassing both in-person and virtual participation. This conference will build on the previous two CRVS and gender conferences - the last conference was held in February, 2018. This year’s conference will Assess developments on gender and CRVS since 2020 Conference in Ottawa, including the impact of Covid-19 Highlight the value of CRVS data for tracking gender inequalities Advance practices to strengthen gender-responsive CRVS systems in support of the 2030 agenda, including SDG5 and commitments to "Leave No One Behind" Guide and strengthen gender dimensions of CRVS strengthening efforts and gender sensitive analyses of civil registration data Simultaneous interpretation will be offered between English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.
Description: Since its establishment in 2018, the Committee has completed the preparation of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics and the Manual on the Maturity Model for SBRs. With its updated strategic view on business and trade statistics, the Committee is now redefining its future work programme for the next biennium, taking into account the priority areas of: digitalization, productivity and innovation; wellbeing and social inclusion; and green economy. The 5th meeting of the UNCEBTS will review the new work plans of the task teams, address follow-up actions from the United Nations Statistical Commission and review the progress of work of the task team on International Trade Statistics. In addition, the UNCEBTS will consider new developments and initiatives in business and trade statistics to ensure the relevance of its work and also to ensure synergies and coherence between the workstreams of the Committee and the work undertaken by other groups of experts, countries and organizations.
Description: The twelfth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) will be held from 3 - 5 August 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. UN-GGIM, comprising experts designated by the Governments of Member States, seeks to promote international cooperation in global geospatial information management and provide a forum for coordination and dialogue among Member States, and between Member States and relevant international organizations. As the relevant inter-governmental body on geospatial information in the United Nations, UN-GGIM reports on all matters relating to geography, geospatial information and related topics to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Description: The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World is an annual flagship report to inform on progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition and to...
Description: The FAO/WHO Global Individual Food consumption data Tool (FAO/WHO GIFT) has been selected following a Mapping of Digital-Related Initiatives Across the UN System, where 489 inputs from 39 UN entities were received. To highlight the outcomes...
Description: The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) emphasized that the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) now provided an overarching paradigm to further strengthen nationally integrated geospatial information management, not only for Member States that were in the early stages of adopting national spatial data infrastructures but also for those that had already successfully implemented spatial data infrastructure capabilities, and that continuous collaboration would be necessary including with other emerging and complementary geospatial initiatives that extends the IGIF's relevance in the future geospatial information ecosystem. In this regard, the UN-GGIM, at its tenth session, established a dedicated high-level group of experts, with balanced geographical representation and expertise, as a mechanism to provide strategic leadership, coordination and oversight in order to ensure the sustained success of the IGIF, and to mobilize the resources necessary to maintain the momentum and refinement of the IGIF as a continuously evolving process. UN-GGIM, at its eleventh session, endorsed the strategic plan of the HLG-IGIF, including its six defined goals and focus actions, supported three priority goals identified for immediate attention, as an essential step towards the continued success and relevance of the IGIF. UN-GGIM also emphasized the importance of maintaining the impact and continuity of the IGIF at the national level, and that was applicable for all Member States, and noted suggestions from Member States for the HLG-IGIF to consider in its plan of work. This first formal meeting of the HLG-IGIF allows members of the HLG-IGIF, the UN-GGIM Bureau and invited experts to engage, interact and work with one another to review, consider and discuss challenges, progress to-date and accomplishments, consider, develop and plan for the work ahead noting the global importance of the IGIF for strengthening national geospatial information management towards implementing national development priorities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The plenary meeting will also consider views, suggestions and guidance of Member States and facilitate ongoing consideration to translate concepts into practical guidance for the implementation of the IGIF at the country level.
Organizer(s): FAO USAid United States IFAD IFPRI Gates Foundation United States
Description: This side event will provide an opportunity to discuss country experiences in using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index and reflect on its impact on measuring and tracking gender equity...
Organizer(s): UNSD Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data Sustainable Development Solutions Network World Bank
Description: This side event, jointly organized by GPSDD, SDSN TReNDS, WB, and UNSD, aims to provide an update on the D4N initiative and highlight recent country experiences of innovative partnerships and solutions built as part of D4N. More concretely, the event will: 1. Provide an update of work and showcase innovative results and learning from countries. 2. Highlight some of the noteworthy partnerships formed as part of the initiative 3. Present upcoming plans, including expansion to involve more countries and partners as well as efforts to make materials more widely available
Description: This EGM is designed to review the content and the quality of the United Nations Demographic Yearbook - one of the crucial collections of population statistics for over seventy years.
Description: SESRIC, in its capacity as the Secretariat of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), will organise the Follow-up Meeting of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom) on 5 March 2020 as a side event of the 51st Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in New York, USA. At the side event, the delegates will be briefed on the progress of the resolutions adopted during the 8th Session of OIC-StatCom. The delegates will also share their inputs and comments about the composition of the bureau members, draft agenda items, and date and venue of 9th Session of OIC-StatCom that is proposed to be held on 30 September – 1 October 2020. Besides, the delegates will also be briefed by SESRIC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CDC Foundation on the Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS) and TQS-Youth Module during the side event. Document Draft Agenda (English)
Description: The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world. It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities especially the setting of statistical standards, the development of concepts and methods and their implementation at the national and international level. The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
Description: The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) promotes interagency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development. As a forum of committed members it fosters good practices in statistical activities of international organisations, in accordance with the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities, and within the constraints of their own governance arrangements and resource envelopes. The members of the CCSA are committed to contribute actively to the development of a coordinated global statistical system producing and disseminating high-quality statistics, e.g. by facilitating the development and well functioning of regional and national statistical systems.
Description: The Committee of the Chief Statisticians of the United Nations System promotes coherent and integrated system-wide United Nations actions to support statistics at the national, regional and international levels, following the principles governing international statistical activities, adopted by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities in 2005, and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted by the General Assembly in 2015. Taking into account the comparative advantages of each member, the Committee encourages coordinated efforts by United Nations agencies and programmes in strengthening national statistical capacity through the definition of common approaches and joint interventions. The Committee supports in particular the modernization of national statistical systems and the reinforcement of their capacity to respond to new data demands for underpinning evidence-based policymaking, including the monitoring of global, regional and national development goals. Recognizing that national needs and priorities should guide the United Nations system’s efforts to support national statistical systems, the Committee supports the development and full implementation of international statistical standards in member States for the production of high-quality and internationally comparable data. The Committee promotes the coordination of the statistical programmes of the United Nations system entities with the aim of “delivering as one”, by fostering synergies, avoiding duplication and overlap, and facilitating data exchange. It promotes the adoption of common quality criteria to drive the statistical production of all agencies of the United Nations system and supports the sharing of knowledge and good practices. It also defines common United Nations positions on statistical matters, to be reported at the Statistical Commission or at other coordination bodies, such as the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities.
Description: The sixteenth meeting of the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is scheduled for Sunday morning, 1 March 2020, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York prior to the 51st Session of the Statistical Commission. The main topics for discussion of the sixteenth meeting of the HLG are: * Preparatory work for the UN World Data Forum 2020; * Coordination of the UN statistical system; * Evaluation of the implementation of the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data (CTGAP); * Updates to the 51st session of the Statistical Commission.
Description: The Friends of the Chair group on economic statistics was created by the Statistical Commission during its fiftieth session to undertake an assessment of the efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of the current system of economic statistics. The Group is heading into its second and final year. In its preparation of the work plan for the second year, the group took stock of the rich discussions amongst the members of the group during the first year. The wealth of information provided through the consultations with the various working groups involved in the domain of economic statistics and through regional consultation seminars were also valuable input to define the work plan for 2020. The third meeting of the Friends of the chair group will consider the proposed deliverables and activities of the work programme 2020 to trial new working methods for the update of the system of economic statistics.
Description: Household surveys play an important role in meeting national data needs, for example, in measuring poverty, employment, skills and learning inclusive education, food security, access to health services and public services, discrimination and violence, inter alia. Household surveys are also critical for monitoring inequalities by gender, class, location disability and other markers of disadvantage, which is critical for monitoring progress against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, household surveys are an invaluable source of data for behavioural and attitudinal measures which cannot be collected - for example - through administrative data systems. A mapping exercise recently conducted shows that around one-third of all SDG indicators (80 out of 232 indicators), covering 13 different goals, can be sourced from household surveys.1 Despite their crucial role in national statistical systems over the past decades, household surveys are now facing many funding challenges and scepticism about their usefulness and adaptability to this era of a changing data landscape. Household surveys are increasingly portrayed as slow and costly. With rising income and urbanization, response rates in surveys (especially in high-income countries) have been declining, with more and more individuals becoming reluctant to participate in surveys. Survey data are often underutilized, which raises further questions on the usefulness and the value of household surveys. With national statistical offices overstretched and underfunded to meet the growing demand for data, household surveys are too-often framed as obsolete when compared and contrasted with other data sources such as "Big Data" and administrative data. Some have even speculated that in a not-too-distant future, Big Data may eliminate the need for surveys altogether. Are household surveys still relevant in the changing data landscape? And if so, are there new roles for that household surveys can play in this new data landscape in addition to the value they currently hold? How do we unleash the full potential of household surveys to add value to other data sources? What are the real opportunities and limitations of alternative data sources vis a vis household surveys? How do we improve the effectiveness of household surveys and their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development? Organised by the United Nations Statistics Division, in collaboration with the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys, the seminar provides a platform for national statistical offices, international organisations and the research community to debate and discuss strategies to realise the full potential of household surveys in this new environment. The seminar will help identify the way forward for further methodological development in household surveys, for scaling up innovative approaches in countries and for identifying capacity building needs. The seminar will also explore and suggest practical ways to streamline and scale up those innovative approaches and do so equitably, with low income countries benefiting in equal manner.
Description: Counted and Visible: The global conference on the measurement of gender and intersecting inequalities will create a common understanding among data users and producers on how to measure intersecting inequalities from a gender perspective in order to 'leave no one behind.' It will contribute to current work on data disaggregation to better inform policies and advocacy on gender equality and women's empowerment. The conference will also be a space for dialogue on gender and intersectionality, to have a better understanding on the needs of the most marginalized groups. This event is co-organized by UN Statistics Division and UN Women.
Description: The 50th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission established a Friends of the Chair Group (FOCG) on Economic Statistics. The Commission requested that the Friends of the Chair Group convene meetings over the next year to discuss whether the current planned updates meet the needs of a future state of the system of economic statistics and whether gaps exist. The Commission also asked the Friends of the Chair Group to examine whether the current governance and infrastructure supporting the system of economic statistics is sufficient to meet the need for an increasingly responsive and comprehensive system of economic statistics. The Friends of the Chair Group has been asked to report back at the 51st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission. This second meeting will be used to: evaluate the feedback received from various fora via the global user consultation of statistical groups; define the system of economic statistics; articulate any changes needed to the governance arrangements and statistical operations and infrastructure of the system; tasks and responsibilities for 2020 and agree on the content of the report to the 51st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
Description: The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing an Inter-Agency and Expert Group Meeting on Gender Statistics. This closed meeting will take place in New York, from 7 to 8 November 2019. Bringing together gender statisticians and experts from the international, regional and national institutions that are IAEG-GS members, the 13th IAEG-GS Meeting has the following objectives: (a) take stock and provide feedback, from a gender perspective, on the methodological work being undertaken by UNSD and the Expert Group on Innovative and Effective Ways to Collect Time-Use Statistics, in line with international standards; (b) discuss and review the on-going work of the IAEG-GS Advisory Group on Strengthening Administrative Systems to Close Gender Data Gaps; (c) review on-going national, regional and global initiatives to improve evidence for gender-relevant policies, including the development and implementation of international methods and standards; (d) discuss progress towards gender equality at the national, regional and global levels, in particular in the context of Beijing+25 and for the preparation of The World’s Women 2020; and (e) cover other business, including the IAEG-GS members’ work in the field of gender statistics and the preparation of the 8th Global Forum on Gender Statistics in 2020. #genderstat
Description: The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing the third meeting of the Expert Group on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics (TUS), in line with ICATUS 2016 and other international standards, to be held in New York on 4 – 6 November 2019. The meeting will be convened to continue the process of developing methodological guidelines on how to operationalize ICATUS 2016 and produce time-use statistics using the latest technologies, as requested by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-eighth session in 2017 in its decision 48/109.
Description: There is an increasing recognition within the private sector of the importance of including the environment in business decision making. At the national level, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is the international statistical standard that produces internationally comparable statistics and accounts that provide a view of the interrelationships between the economy and environment. At the business level, financial accounting is standardized through the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and there exist many initiatives for business accounting and reporting on the environment, although a globally accepted standard is lacking. Steps towards aligning public and private sector approaches have been made, but this alignment is still in a stage of infancy. To contribute to advancing these issues, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is holding a scoping workshop to better understand the synergies and differences of the public and private sectors in terms of natural capital accounting approaches and data requirements. This workshop is one of the activities of the Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services Project, a multi-year project funded by the European Union. The workshop will be held from 16-17 October at UNHQ in New York.
Organizer(s): UNSD Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
Description: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects a unique global consensus and commitment to address the world’s most acute and pressing challenges to leave no one behind. Four years after the SDGs were agreed, heads of state and government will return to the United Nations under the auspices of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for multilateral discussion of international issues and for the first time host the SDG summit to allow a detailed assessment of the progress towards achievement of the global goals
Description: To boost institutional agility and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, shared value partnerships are foundational to success. UN Global Pulse, Dataminr and Twitter invite you to an evening of conversations and real-world examples of technology and innovation that are making a positive impact on lives. Agenda 6:00 - 6:30pm Registration & Networking 6:30 - 7:00pm Opening Remarks 7:00 - 7:45pm Panel 7:45 - 9:00pm Evening Reception
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Original webpage was deleted, archived version from the Internet Archive (not a UN service): Link
Description: The question of how to feed a growing global population has been central to discussions around population and development for decades. While the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development highlighted the problem of undernutrition, today's discussion of malnutrition is broader and includes stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity, as well as micronutrient deficiencies. Moreover, there is an increasing recognition of the challenges to food security posed by factors such as climate change, conflict and economic downturns. Recognizing the importance and timeliness of these topics, the United Nations Commission on Population and Development decided in 2018 that the thematic focus of its fifty-third session in 2020 would be "Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development". In preparation for the upcoming session, the Population Division of UN DESA will convene an expert group meeting on this topic, to be held in New York from 16 to 17 September 2019. The expert meeting is expected to provide substantive inputs for the preparation of the reports of the Secretary-General on the special theme of the fifty-third session of the Commission on Population and Development. In particular, the meeting will result in draft recommendations on ways in which the Commission can contribute to the international dialogue on the issues.
Description: The ninth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) will be held from 7 - 9 August 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. UN-GGIM, as the apex intergovernmental mechanism for setting directions and making decisions with regard to global geospatial information management, reports to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on all matters relating to geography, geospatial information and related topics.
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Original webpage was deleted, archived version from the Internet Archive (not a UN service): Link
Description: The meeting will discuss the implementation of the United Nations National Quality Assurance Frameworks Manual for Official Statistics (UN NQAF Manual) developed by the Expert Group and adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in March 2019 at its fiftieth session. In its decision 50/106, the Commission welcomed the planned initiatives to support countries in the implementation of a national quality assurance framework, including through the establishment of an expert forum, the sharing of best practices and the development of tools. This meeting will review the workplan of the Expert Group and its implementation plan for the UN NQAF Manual, work on the development of a checklist for self-assessment and other tools and develop a plan for an ongoing engagement with countries.
Description: United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on Improving Migration Data in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The meeting will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, from 1-3 July 2019. The main objectives of the Expert Group Meeting are to: (a) review the draft Technical Report on Measuring Migration-relevant SDG Indicators; (b) discuss the revision of the 1998 United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration, in particular the technical material developed by the Group’s task forces and agree on the outline and next steps/timeline for the revision; and (c) discuss a roadmap on improving national capacities on statistics on international migration, leading to a draft global programme on migration statistics.
Description: The Forum of Experts on SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting 2019 will be held on 26 and 27 June 2019 in Glen Cove, New York. The Forum is organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the World Bank, and the European Union through the project 'Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services.' Participants will include statisticians, researchers and experts in the area of ecosystem accounting, ecosystem modelling, spatial analysis of ecosystem services, and environmental and ecological economics, as well as earth observation specialists. Representatives of the project partner countries, namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, and other countries having experience in the compilation of ecosystem accounting would also be in attendance.
Description: The UN Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA) functions as an umbrella body to provide overall vision, coordination, prioritization and direction in the field of environmental-economic accounting. The Fourteenth Meeting of the UNCEEA, organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), will be held in New York from 24-25 June 2019. The Meeting will follow the organization of the Committee’s five broad areas of work: coordination, methodological development for normative standards and other research related to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), development of databases, implementation of statistical capacity building and formulation of a statistical response on emerging policy issues. The meeting will be attended by approximately 50 experts in environmental-economic accounting from member states and regional and international organizations.
Description: The meeting of the Technical Subgroup for the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (TSG-ISIC) will take place in New York from 18 to 20 June 2019. In line with the terms of reference of the TSG-ISIC, the meeting will review issues that were raised at the TSG-ISIC meeting in May 2016 (such as the treatment of factoryless goods producers (FGPs) and statistical units) and emerging issues arising from the review of the Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE) and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in order to investigate whether these issues can be addressed in the current structure of ISIC. The TSG-ISC is a subgroup of the Expert Group on International Statistical Classifications.
Description: The UN Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics (UNCEBTS) was created by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2018 to provide coordination and guidance for the development of business and trade statistics. The second meeting of the UNCEBTS, organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), will be held in New York from 11-13 June 2019. The Meeting will follow the organization of the Committee’s five workstreams: globalization and digitalization; well-being and sustainability; exhaustive business registers; business dynamics, business demography and entrepreneurship; and capacity building (no one left behind) on statistical business registers. The meeting will be attended by approximately 40 experts from member states and regional and international organizations.
Organizer(s): UNSD Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems
Description: United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in cooperation with the Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems, housed at the International Development Research Centre of Canada, is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on the Handbook on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems: Communication for Development. The meeting will take place in New York, from 29 to 31 May 2019 and will be conducted in English. The main objective of the meeting is to review the draft of the revised Handbook; to provide guidance on its content and structure with a view to ensuring that it provides countries with a reference document on the communication aspects of Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems.
Description: The 50th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission established a Friends of the Chair Group (FOCG) on Economic Statistics. The Commission requested that the Friends of the Chair Group convene meetings over the next year to discuss whether the current planned updates meet the future state of the system of economic statistics and whether gaps exist. The Commission also asked the Friends of the Chair Group to examine whether the current governance and infrastructure supporting the system of economic statistics is sufficient to meet the need for an increasingly responsive and comprehensive system of economic statistics. The Friends of the Chair Group has been asked to report back at the 51st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission. This first meeting will be used take stock of the current systemof economic statistics and identify a possible future state, discuss whether the governance and infrastructure currently in place is sufficient to address future priority needs. The expected output of the meeting will include a stock take of priorities, infrastructure and governance which in turn can be shared in various regional fora throughout the year for additional input and vetting.
Description: The Sixth Meeting of the Expert Group on Environment Statistics (EGES), organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), will be held in New York from 21 to 23 May 2019. The meeting will be attended by approximately 35 experts in environment statistics from countries as well as regional and international organizations. The Statistical Commission at its forty-fourth session in 2013 endorsed the revised Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) as the framework for strengthening environment statistics programmes in countries and requested UNSD to convene a standing Expert Group on Environment Statistics to collaborate with and assist UNSD in future methodological work and other aspects of the application of the revised Framework in countries. The sixth meeting will discuss, inter alia: (i) the draft methodology sheets of the Manual for the Basic Set of Environment Statistics; (ii) the implementation of the FDES 2013 and the reporting template to summarize the results of the Environment Statistics Self-Assessment Tool (ESSAT); (iii) environmentally-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators; (iv) the regular biennial data collection in water and waste statistics via the UNSD/UNEP Questionnaire on Environment Statistics, including e-waste statistics; (v) climate change statistics and indicators; and (vi) capacity development.
Description: The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing the second meeting of the Expert Group on Innovative and Effective ways to collect Time-Use Statistics (TUS), in line with ICATUS 2016 and other international standards, to be held in New York on 20-22 May 2019. The meeting will be convened to continue the process of developing methodological guidelines on how to operationalize ICATUS 2016 and produce time-use statistics using the latest technologies, as requested by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-eighth session in 2017 in its decision 48/109.
Description: The 2019 Session of the "new" United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) was convened from 29 April to 3 May 2019 at the UNHQ, conference room 2, in New York. The session, organized by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, brought together 264 participants representing 70 Member States, one observer (Palestine), and two inter-governmental organizations; International Cartographic Association, and International Geographic Association. They discussed and deliberated on strategies, methodologies and best practices by which the standardization of geographical names throughout the world can be advanced for the benefit of all citizens, governments and non-governmental organizations.
Description: A Population Commission was established by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 3 (III) of 3 October 1946. In its resolution 49/128 of 19 December 1994, the General Assembly decided that the Commission should be renamed the Commission on Population and Development. In the same resolution, the Assembly decided that it, the Council and the Commission should constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism that would play the primary role in the follow-up to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and that the Commission, as a functional commission assisting the Council, would monitor, review and assess the implementation of the Programme of Action at the national, regional and international levels and advise the Council thereon.
Target Audience: The Commission is composed of 47 Member States elected by the Economic and Social Council for a period of four years on the basis of geographic distribution. Representatives should have a relevant background in population and development.
Description: The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will hold a briefing on the substantive reports of the Secretary-General that have been prepared for the fifty-second session of the Commission. The meeting will be chaired by His Excellency Mr. E. Courtenay Rattray (Jamaica), Chair-designate of the fifty-second session. All interested members of delegations, representatives of non-governmental organizations and Secretariat staff are invited to attend.
Description: The 50th Session of the Statistical Commission will be held in New York from 5‐8 March 2019. Side events will take place from 1-8 March 2019 (Link to Side events calendar)
Description: The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) promotes interagency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development. As a forum of committed members it fosters good practices in statistical activities of international organisations, in accordance with the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities, and within the constraints of their own governance arrangements and resource envelopes. The members of the CCSA are committed to contribute actively to the development of a coordinated global statistical system producing and disseminating high-quality statistics, e.g. by facilitating the development and well functioning of regional and national statistical systems.
Description: The Committee of the Chief Statisticians of the United Nations System promotes coherent and integrated system-wide United Nations actions to support statistics at the national, regional and international levels, following the principles governing international statistical activities, adopted by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities in 2005, and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted by the General Assembly in 2015. Taking into account the comparative advantages of each member, the Committee encourages coordinated efforts by United Nations agencies and programmes in strengthening national statistical capacity through the definition of common approaches and joint interventions. The Committee supports in particular the modernization of national statistical systems and the reinforcement of their capacity to respond to new data demands for underpinning evidence-based policymaking, including the monitoring of global, regional and national development goals. Recognizing that national needs and priorities should guide the United Nations system’s efforts to support national statistical systems, the Committee supports the development and full implementation of international statistical standards in member States for the production of high-quality and internationally comparable data. The Committee promotes the coordination of the statistical programmes of the United Nations system entities with the aim of “delivering as one”, by fostering synergies, avoiding duplication and overlap, and facilitating data exchange. It promotes the adoption of common quality criteria to drive the statistical production of all agencies of the United Nations system and supports the sharing of knowledge and good practices. It also defines common United Nations positions on statistical matters, to be reported at the Statistical Commission or at other coordination bodies, such as the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities.
Description: The thirteenth meeting of the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was held on Sunday morning, 3 March 2019, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York prior to the 50th Session of the Statistical Commission. The main topics for discussion of the thirteenth meeting of the HLG are: * Next steps and update on the subgroup on implementation and financing of the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data, including update on the financing mechanism, * Brief update on the preparatory work on the UN World Data Forum 2020, * Review objectives and next steps of the Subgroup on a more efficient UN statistical system, * Administrative and logistical concerns * Inputs for the HLPF 2019 segments, July (ECOSOC) and September (UNGA), and * Updates to the 50th session of the Statistical Commission.
Description: Leading up to the opening of the 50th Session of the UN Statistical Commission, this year's Friday Seminar on the Future of Economic Statistics offers a unique opportunity to interact, exchange and learn from leading economists, statisticians and academics in the fields of economic policy, data and statistics. The renewed interest in economic policy, data and statistics has been initiated by the UN Secretary-General, who recently asked to proceed immediately with the implementation of a UN network of economists led by the UN Chief Economist. This seminar is timely and fully supports this initiative. The seminar will seek a collaborative response to the need for economic statistics that support evidence-based policy making within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This response may call for a step-change in the conceptual framework of economic statistics combining measures of economic activity that reflect globalization and digitalization trends with broader measures of equitable and sustainable economic performance. It is expected that these broader measures can inform policy actions that can help foster economic growth, people’s well-being, inclusive societies and sustainable use of the environment as set out by the sustainable development agenda. To debate the broader purpose of economic statistics in the future, we need to assess the users’ demands, as well as the capacity and capability of our statistical systems to provide the required data and statistical services.
Description: International migration is a global phenomenon that is growing in scope, complexity and impact. Today, virtually all countries in the world are simultaneously countries of destination, origin and transit for international migrants. Traditional migration patterns are complemented by new migratory flows, fueled by changing economic, demographic, political and social realities. Changing migration patterns affect the size and composition of migrant populations as well as host and origin economies and societies. The rise in global mobility, the growing complexity of migratory patterns and the impact of population movements have contributed to international migration becoming a priority for the international community. The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs is organizing a one-day expert symposium on international migration and development, to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, 26 February 2019. The symposium is being convened in lieu of the annual coordination meeting on international migration, which has been organized by the Population Division since 2001. The purpose of the expert symposium is to: (a) highlight opportunities for addressing issues related to migration and development in the high-level political forum on sustainable development to be held in July and September 2019, (b) discuss ways and means of improving the collection and use of migration data in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and (c) present and share information on recent initiatives on international migration and development.
Description: The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on Statistical Methodology for Delineating Cities and Rural Areas. The meeting will take place in New York, from 28 to 30 January 2019 and will be conducted in English. In the context of the fact that, at the level of international official statistics and international statistical standards, there is a lack of harmonized and universally implemented definition of urban and rural areas in general, and the definitions of metropolitan, urban, semi-urban, rural and uninhabited areas in particular, several innovative approaches have been developed in recent years in an attempt to develop statistical methodology that could be generally used across world regions and that is based on identical parameters. The European Commission, in co-operation with several international organizations has developed such a methodology for a harmonized delineation of cities and rural areas. The purpose of the Expert Group Meeting is to discuss, in detail, the following points: (1) Assessing the technical comprehensiveness of the methodology as developed by European Commission and partners; (2) Assessing the applicability of the parameters for the delineation of urban and rural areas in terms of levels of density; (3) Assessing the employment of the methodology in national circumstances through the presentation and elaboration of national practices and examples; (4) Elaborating on the suitability of submitting the proposed methodology to the United Nations Statistical Commission for discussion and possible recommendation for the purpose of achieving regional and international comparison and harmonization of urban and rural areas and their statistics.
Description: Following the decision of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) at its 48th session, the revision of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012–Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) is underway. The SEEA EEA was endorsed by the UNSC at its 44th session in March 2013 as an important step in the development of a statistical framework for ecosystem accounting. The SEEA EEA offers a synthesis of the current knowledge in ecosystem accounting and serves as a platform for its development at national and sub-national levels. The aim of the revision process is to build on existing knowledge and experience to develop agreed methodologies on measuring ecosystem extent, ecosystem condition, ecosystem services and valuation of ecosystem assets and services. As a part of the revision process, it has been agreed to focus on a number of selected ecosystem services and use a bottom-up approach to work towards agreed definitions and treatment of ecosystem services in an ecosystem accounting context. As such, ten key ecosystem services were identified, for which discussion papers were drafted outlining their definition(s), biophysical measurement methods and valuation with respect to accounting. This expert meeting will provide the opportunity for invited experts and representatives from project countries to consider the measurement of ecosystem services in depth and determine an appropriate research agenda that could be informed by or further tested in the project countries and elsewhere in order to advance towards common approaches for ecosystem accounting.
Description: The main objective of the Expert Group meeting is to review the revised Handbook on Population and Housing Census Editing and to provide further guidance on its content and structure with a view to ensuring that it provides countries with a reference document on contemporary census data editing methods and information on various approaches to census data editing. Specifically, the meeting aims to: (i) review the revised Handbook to ensure that it provides relevant guidance on editing procedures and processes for traditional census editing (editing after data collection) as well as for real-time editing (editing during data collection where tablet computers and the Internet are used) based on good country practices; (ii) align the revised Handbook with contemporary census practices, including the use of electronic data collection technologies; (iii) align the revised Handbook with the standards and methods contained in the recently revised Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Handbook on the Management of Population and Housing Censuses.
