The Internet has become an integrated part of our lives, from accessing an education, to receiving healthcare services and to conducting business. The digital transformation we are experiencing is spreading across the most remote areas in the world. The frontier technologies are opening new boundaries and possibilities for development. As we move forward, our dependence on the Internet and technologies will grow even further.
Governments and businesses are challenged to combat hunger, poverty, water scarcity, climate change, disasters and other perils, and to provide peace and prosperity for its people, leaving no one behind. Addressing these challenges requires evidence-based policy making, which is achievable with the use of geospatial data, statistical data and applicable technologies. Everything – all our challenges – happens somewhere and can be located, mapped, viewed, measured, analyzed, modelled and monitored. Geospatial tools when applied, allows us to gain insight into data, reveal patterns and relationships which helps us to make better decisions and chart the way to a more sustainable world.
Over 150 statistics experts from around 40 countries will assemble in Tokyo from 14 to 16 November to discuss ways of improving data for evidenced-based gender policies. Coming on the heels of the UN World Data Forum, the 7th Global Forum on Gender Statistics will seek ways of filling the gender data gaps through international statistical standards and methods, latest technologies and by sharing best practices.
The special report on global warming by the UN-run Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October should be an “ear-splitting wake-up call” for the world to take climate action, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres warned last month.
Limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, compared to our current path of more than 2°C, would provide clear benefits to people and ecosystems alike. It would limit the negative effects of extreme weather and allow more time for countries to build resilience. Business-as-usual scenarios predict that we may hit the 1.5°C threshold in as little as 12 years. Combatting climate change, therefore, requires rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society, from governments, to businesses, to individuals.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a distinct group of countries that face specific vulnerabilities and particular challenges. The SAMOA Pathway is their 10-year plan for improving sustainable development, and partnerships play a key role. The Samoa Partnership Dialogue, held on 29 October 2018 ahead of the Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting for the Mid-term Review of the SAMOA Pathway, allowed SIDS and other stakeholders to forge new partnerships. UN DESA Voice spoke to Ola Goransson, who led the Samoa Partnership Dialogues for UN DESA, about how genuine and durable partnerships are a crucial component for achieving the SAMOA Pathway.
The second United Nations World Data Forum concluded on 24 October 2018, with the launch of the Dubai Declaration to increase financing for better data and statistics for sustainable development.
“While it is clear that the data revolution is having an enormous impact, it has not benefited everyone equally,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed at the Forum. “Our task is to make sure data is available to all people. We must make sure it is harnessed to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda at all levels and in all regions and countries.”
| 1-2 November, New York | Expert group meeting on population and sustainable development in the 21st century |
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| 12-14 November, Paris | Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum |
| 13 November, New York | Joint Meeting of ECOSOC and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) |
| 14-16 November, Tokyo | 7th Global Forum on Gender Statistics |
| 19-21 November, China | United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) |
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