Hangzhou, 27 April 2023 – The fourth United Nations World Data Forum, with the participation of 1000 in-person data experts from national statistical offices, private sector and civil socity and over 10,000 virtual participants, concluded with the official launch of the Hangzhou Declaration: Accelerating progress in the implementation of the Cape Town Global Action Plan (CTGAP) for Sustainable Development Data.
“We have come a long way since Cape Town. We have moved from a narrow focus on official statistics to thinking about the data ecosystem more holistically, with all actors working increasingly closer together, from citizens, private sector, decision makers to national statistical offices,” said Amina Mohammed UN Deputy Secretary-General, at the closing of the Forum. “Today, we see data being discussed at a political level and have come to understand the value of data as a strategic asset – key to making better decisions to support people and planet. We urgently need to invest in better data to ensure no one is left behind,” she added.
At the mid-point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, high-quality, timely, open and inclusive data remains a key component to accelerating the progress needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to address the multiple crises that are threatening food security, the eradication of poverty, health, education, the environment, and peace and security.
The Hangzhou Declaration calls for an urgent increase in the level and scale of investments in data and statistics from domestic and international actors as well as public, private and philanthropic sectors to strengthen statistical capacity in low-income countries and fragile States, close data gaps for vulnerable groups and enhance country resilience in the current context of an economic crisis, protracted conflicts, the climate emergency and increased food insecurity.
The Declaration seeks to foster more innovative practices with data and statistics through initiatives like Data for Now , co-led by the Statistics Division in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World Bank, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN-TReNDS).
Many innovative practices were shared during the Forum, showcasing that progress is being made in exploring the use of non-traditional data sources and tools to better inform decision making. The Data for Now initiative is a prime example of how partners are working together at national and international levels to innovate in data and statistics production. National statistical offices lead the work in engaging with key stakeholders from the onset to identify priorities and in using innovative approaches to respond to the needs.
The Hangzhou Declaration also emphasizes the collaboration and coordination with the wider data ecosystem through the launch of a new programme on citizen-generated data to empower individuals and communities to contribute to data production, take control of their data and improve their lives.
Citizen contributions to data, 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. In particular, in the context of the 2030 Agenda’s principle to ensure that no one is left behind, citizen contributions to data help fill critical data gaps for groups suffering from data marginalization and increase the extent to which their experiences are reflected in statistics.
During the UN World Data Forum 2023, UN DESA’s Statistics Division officially launched “A Collaborative on Citizen Data” to promote the systematic collaboration among civil society, national statistical systems, academia and other relevant data producers and users. The Collaborative will provide a space for sharing knowledge, resources and addressing key challenges that were discussed during the UN World Data Forum such as data quality, ethics and further development of guidance based on ongoing research and experiences gathered.
Colombia to host the next forum
It was also announced today that Colombia will host the 2024 UN World Data Forum. The announcement was made by the co-chairs of the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“The United Nations looks forward to working with colleagues from Colombia to organize an open and inclusive 5th UN World Data Forum,” said Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the Statistics Division in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “China has set a new organizing standard which will inject more energy as we move toward the next forum.”