Regional Training Workshop on Trade SDMX
Strengthening trade data reporting and exchange mechanism
Jointly organized by AUC and UNSD
- Tunis, Tunisia
- 10-14 September 2018
Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) is a preferred data transmission standard on statistical data as noted in UN Statistical Commission report on Decision 12 on its thirty-ninth session (2008). And in addition, SDMX is an ISO standard (ISO 17369:2013) designed to describe statistical data and metadata, normalize data exchange and improve their efficient sharing across statistical and similar organizations.
An inter-agency working group consisting of Eurostat, the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have been working to specify uniform structures, concept definitions and code lists for the transmission of IMTS data and metadata in accordance with SDMX, called SDMX-IMTS or simply Trade SDMX.
Within this context, African Union Commission (AUC) and UN Statistics Division (UNSD) organize jointly the first Regional Training Workshop on Trade SDMX to raise awareness on SDMX-IMTS artifacts including data structure, concepts and code lists; and to train IT experts and trade statisticians in using latest SDMX tools to map their trade database in to SDMX-IMTS output. The workshop will take place in Tunis, Tunisia from 10 to 14 September 2018 and will be attended by around twenty-five African countries and various Regional Economic Communities.
Monday, 10 September
Opening Session
- Welcome remarks by AUC and UNSD
- Adoption of agenda
Introduction to SDMX
09:00 - 10:45
Overview of SDMX
- Information Model
- Content-Oriented Guidelines
- IT architecture
11:00 - 12:30
Overview of SDMX objects
- Concept scheme
- Code lists
- Data structure definition
14:00 - 15:15
Overview of SDMX architecture
- SDMX Registry
- Etc.
15:30 - 17:00
Practical use cases of SMDX
Tuesday, 11 September
Introduction to SDMX-IMTS
09:00 - 12:30
Overview of SDMX-IMTS
- Substantive
- Technicals
Lesson learnt from SDMX pilot projects
- Mexico
- Morocco
14:00 - 17:00
Demo on SDMX tools used in pilot projects (step-by-step)
- Data preparation
- Data mapping
Wednesday, 12 September
Hands-on: Mapping and Tools
Track 1: Trade
- SDMX-IMTS artifacts: data structure definition and code lists
- Mapping from national lists to SDMX code lists
Track 2: IT
- Installation and setup of SDMX tools
- Hands-on training on the use of Mapping Assistant
- Generating data in SDMX format
Thursday, 13 September
Self-Paced Hands-on Exercise
Putting it together:
- Data preparation
- Finalize mapping on partner countries, mode of transports, customs procedure codes, trade flows, quantity units, etc.
- Use mapping assistant
- Use “Test Client” tool
- Use “SDMX web services”
