Workshop on updated and new recommendations for International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS 2010) will be held in Lusaka, Zambia, 1-5 November

At its forty-first session (23 – 26 February 2010) the Statistical Commission adopted IMTS 2010 and endorsed the implementation programme as contained in the Secretary General’s report, including the preparation of the revised IMTS Compilers Manual and continued technical assistance activities.

This workshop focuses on the implementation of IMTS in countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa region and is organized by DESA’s Statistics in cooperation with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Participants will learn about the new and updated recommendations and share their experiences in the compilation of IMTS and the implementation of the international recommendations (old and new) on IMTS, also with view on identifying issues and best practices for inclusion in the updated IMTS Compilers Manual.

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/trade/WS%20Lusaka10/ws_imts_lusaka10.htm

Developing census capacities in Malawi

National CensusInfo Training will take place in Zomba, Malawi from 9-12 November

DESA’s Statistics Division is organizing this training in collaboration with the National Statistical Office, Malawi. It is intended to develop the national census technical teams’ capacities to adapt CensusInfo as platform for disseminating census data. Participants will learn various processes involved in the adaptation of CensusInfo including preparation of CensusInfo template and database, standard report and profile templates, language translation and packaging the software.

The sessions also includes hands-on training on using CensusInfo User Interface and Database Administration applications, designing and creating templates and databases to house country-specific census data, learning various data administration utilities including importing census data to facilitate uploading of data into the CensusInfo system, and generating relevant tables, graphs, maps, reports and profiles for reporting purposes.

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/default.htm

Seminar on the Implementation of the System of National Accounts 2008 in the Latin America and Caribbean Region will be held in Lima, Peru, 9-12 November

The System of National Accounts, 2008 (2008 SNA) is an updated version of the System of National Accounts, 1993 (1993 SNA). It is the fifth version of the SNA, the first of which was published over fifty years ago.

The 2008 SNA was prepared under the auspices of the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on National Accounts (ISWGNA), which consists of five organizations: the Statistical Office of the European Commission (Eurostat), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), DESA’s Statistics Division and regional commissions of the United Nations Secretariat and the World Bank. The 2008 SNA is published jointly by these five organizations.

DESA’s Statistics Division, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean, is organizing this seminar to support the regional implementation programme of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The seminar will be hosted by the National Statistics and Informatics Institute of Peru.

The purpose of the seminar is to assist the Working Group on National Accounts of the Statistical Conference of the Americas in implementing the regional implementation programme of the 2008 SNA and supporting economic statistics with the objective of developing comparable economic statistics for countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region as a whole to monitor the integration of their economies. This regional programme forms part of the global implementation programme for the 2008 SNA and supporting statistics.

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/sna2008.asp

Various methods for evaluating censuses

Workshop on the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses: Census Evaluation and Post Enumeration Surveys, for Arabic speaking Countries will be held in Amman, Jordan, 21-24 November

DESA’s Statistics Division in collaboration with the Jordan Department of Statistics and the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics, is organizing this workshop to present an overview of the various methods of evaluating censuses with a focus on the post enumeration survey (PES) methodology.

More specifically, the workshop will cover elements of the PES with regard to planning and implementation, frames and sample design, methodologies for evaluating content and coverage errors. It will also focus on matching procedures, imputation of missing values, and tabulation and dual system of estimation. The workshop will offer the possibility to the participants to present and discuss the experience of their countries on different aspects of census evaluation and the post enumeration survey.

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/meetings/wshops/Jordan_21Nov10/default.htm

International Workshop on Social Statistics will take place in Beijing from 22-26 November

DESA’s Statistics Division and the National Bureau of Statistics of China are organizing this workshop as part of the social statistics programme of the Statistics Division with the purpose of enhancing the capacity of countries to collect, disseminate and use quality statistics on time use and on violence against women.

This workshop is also intended to provide an opportunity to review and discuss new national initiatives and data collection tools for the improvement of these two areas of social statistics.

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/meetings/wshops/China_22-24Nov2010/default.htm

Training of trade in services statistics

Workshop on Statistics of International Trade in Services will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 30 November-3 December

DESA’s Statistics Division in cooperation with the General Statistical Office of Vietnam is organizing this workshop within the framework of DESA’s Development Account project for the strengthening of the statistical capacity of countries in South East Asia.

The objective of the workshop is to train representatives from national statistical offices and central banks of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor-Leste and Vietnam on the methodology of trade in services statistics and on current country-practices in compilation of trade in specific services sectors.

The training focuses on both the interpretation of conceptual issues and options for the implementation of the international recommendations, taking account of country specific circumstances and facilitating the establishment of a network of statisticians among these South East Asian countries. The workshop reviews particularly the travel item and tourism statistics.

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradeserv/default.htm

Linking capacity of local leadership and local development

Ministerial Workshop on leadership capacity building for decentralized governance and poverty reduction in Africa was held in Kampala, Uganda from 4 to 7 October in conjunction with the Global Forum on Local Development

Key stakeholders in local governance in Africa recommend the strengthening of public administration and leadership capacities to enhance accountability and improve the delivery of services at local level which will speed up the achievement of MDGs.

Leaders from 22 African countries attended the Forum including Ministers responsible for local government, senior public service officers from central and local governments, leaders of local government associations, political leaders in local governments, International and Regional Organizations representatives, management experts and practitioners as well as representatives of civil society organizations.

The focus of this workshop was on the linkages between the capacity of local leadership and local development, strengthening public administration in local governments for effective delivery of services, improving the delivery of services through application of ICTs, and how to implement the recommendations made by the Global Forum on Local Development to speed up the achievement of MDGs at the local level.

For more information: http://www.unpan.org/Events/BrowseEventsbyCalendar/tabid/94/mctl/EventDetails
/ModuleID/1532/ItemID/1607/language/en-US/Default.aspx?selecteddate=10/4/2010