August 13, 2024
A note from the UN secretariat organisers, Ian Rutherford and Linda Hooper
After months of preparation, the programme is out, and the registration is open as we pass 100 days until the fifth UN World Data Forum.
This is the fifth forum. The fifth time working with a programme committee. The fifth time working with a host country. The fifth time working with this growing community to make the fifth United Nations World Data Forum a success! Our involvement in the conceptualize and organization of all five Forums has been a remarkable experience for us. When the planning of the first Forum in Cape Town started, it was a monumental task, an exploration into a new arena which set the stage for the series. Many early morning hours were spent framing that first Forum to support the larger statistical and data community of experts. It is very pleasing that many elements are still at the heart of the approaching fifth forum.
From Proposals to Programme: crafting the agenda for Medellín
From almost 700 proposals received at the beginning of this year, the Programme Committee diligently whittled these down to an extensive programme of 90 sessions that will make up the conversation in Medellín. These sessions, handpicked by the Committee, cover a range of topics, formats and speaker perspectives reflecting the incredibly important work of the data community at large.
The topics and formats available on the programme have evolved since the first Forum in 2017. The fifth Forum now includes more than just panel discussions; with a good mix of other formats such as short-talks, learning labs, demonstrations and announcements. The Forum continues to expand its discussions beyond statistics to incorporate data issues that are in the forefront of the news, such as digitalization, citizen-generated data, security, and artificial intelligence and machine learning enabled data science as well as exploring the use of registry systems and improved data availability. We have made great strides in drawing together a well-blended mix of speakers, distributed among three main groups: Government (30%), international agencies (30%) and academia, civil society and NGO representatives and the private sector (40%).
Strengthening Global Data Systems: focusing on impact
The Forum was founded by the need for more and better data to measure sustainable development. The push for a data revolution under the 2030 agenda yielded the model for the forum as a space for data and statistical experts, ranging from national offices, private sector, academia and others, to come together to showcase the latest developments and innovations. The Forum encourages partnerships between these experts to advance data ecosystems to meet the demands of leaving no one behind.
More than seven years ago in Cape Town a call was heard that launched the Cape Town Global Action Plan for sustainable development data, a vision of how to shape national statistical systems to make them more agile and responsive to providing adequate evidence for policy makers. The establishment of the Forum has helped shape the global dialogue on issues of data and statistics for sustainable development.
Expanding the Data Community: new actors and future directions
A key driver of the Forum and an essential ingredient are the national statistical offices and their statistical systems from around the world. Under the leadership of the High-Level Group, the Forum has become a strong voice in the data and statistics world, attracting substantial expertise as shown by the membership of the current programme committee. The duties of this year’s host are coordinated by the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE-Colombia), part of a long line of dedicated country hosts represented by their statistical office.
Thanks to this supporting foundation, the Forum has introduced several new actors in this area. The community has become broader because of the convening power of the Forum. This can be traced through the outcome documents issued at each Forum which appeal more and more across different specialisms and communities. The fifth Forum will take this further by launching a much broader second-generation document based on the original Cape Town Global Action Plan which aims to strengthen the broader statistical and data community with realigned priorities and actions making all stakeholders accountable for better data for better lives.
The host country, the Government of Colombia and the City of Medellin, is busy preparing the stairway (escalera) to the Forum to the get us fully back in-person. We hope you will join us to celebrate a monumental fifth Forum as we look forward to saying “bienvenido” in Medellín on the 12 November.