Next month’s UN World Data Forum in Medellin comes at a critical time for the development of data and statistics and a chance to renew our shared agenda. Last month, global leaders gathered here in New York for the beginning of a new session of the UN General Assembly. A Summit of the Future was held just before to discuss global challenges and promote sustainable development focused on future generations. The special Summit concluded with an agreement on three outcome documents; the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.

The upcoming UN World Data Forum will be organized with these outcomes in mind as well as building on the Power of Data High Impact Initiative launched at last year’s SDG Summit. The programme in Medellín will showcase in over two-thirds of its sessions, topics focused on the future of data and statistics; such as youth, gender, climate and environment, digitalisation and modernization, capacity development, data literacy and data science including AI. The Forum’s own outcome document also contains a forward-looking vision for the renewal of the global action plan on sustainable development data. It was recently published for public consultation and makes clear connections to the outcomes of the Summit.

The renewed global action plan currently is designed as a second-generation document of the original Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data (CTGAP) launched at the first Forum. It is meant to carry forward global action on sustainable development data in the remainder of the SDG/2030 Agenda period (2024-2030). The current open consultation seeks opinions from across the statistics and data communities on how this action plan can best contribute to the achievement of better data for better lives. At the center of the revised action plan are 12 new priorities organised under four areas (see Table below). Since its inception, the programme of the Forum has been organized across distinct and exploratory thematic areas; and now the areas in the outcome document have direct correspondence to these thematic areas further strengthening the link between the programme and outcomes of the Forum.

The legacy of this Forum will be the continued refinement of the renewed global action plan. It will continue to be extended to new and stretching actions and matching commitments as a result. We are pleased to be currently working with our partners in Open Data Watch and the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) who launched a Commit to Data campaign earlier this summer to explore the potential and feasibility of sourcing commitments for the new global action plan.

I am proud the data and statistics community continues to use the Forum as a rallying point to advocate for high-quality, timely, open, and inclusive data to accelerate progress in the SDGs and to address the multiple crises that threaten our world. We will in turn continue to support countries, especially those in fragile contexts, to use the Forum to advocate for strengthening their own statistical systems, improving data quality, and expanding data coverage to leave no one behind.

Before we begin our activities at the Forum, I would encourage you again to review the draft outcome documents on the renewal of the global action plan and complete the public consultation questionnaire by 31 October 2024, your views are important to us and you will have the opportunity to choose an appropriate name for the document, thereby establishing another milestone of the Forum thanks to your efforts.