“It is very fitting that for your 70th anniversary session you are meeting – for the first time – here at the heart of the United Nations, in the General Assembly Hall,” said Lenni Montiel, UN DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, as he addressed the opening of the 48th session of the UN Statistical Commission today.

Looking back at when the work of the Commission began in 1947, Mr.

Statisticians, civil society and private sector gathered together on 3 March for a seminar on open data ahead of the 48^th session of the UN Statistical Commission taking place on 7-10 March.

Since its first session in 1947, the UN Statistical Commission has brought together senior statisticians from across the globe to make sure that all nations speak the same statistical language, using harmonized data. The goal has been clear from the start: getting the numbers right to help improve the lives of people around the world. And today, statistics are more vital than ever before.

The inaugural United Nations World Data Forum is concluding today with the launch of a global plan for better data to improve people’s lives, and new ideas and solutions to boost the collaboration, resources and policies needed to put it into action.

The Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data, which will be adopted by countries at the UN Statistical Commission when it meets in March of this year, was prepared with inputs from the global statistical community and data experts from a wider range of stakeholders.

“The UN World Data Forum is the

With only 41 per cent of countries regularly producing data on violence against women and only 13 per cent of countries having a dedicated gender statistics budget, the first-ever United Nations World Data Forum today explored ways to close these data gaps.



“Gender statistics are critical for setting priorities, planning interventions and assessing their impacts,” Purna Sen, the Director of Policy Division at UN Women, told a panel discussion.

With the statistical community facing myriad challenges as countries begin to implement the new 15-year global plan for sustainable development, it is imperative to modernize, improve capacity and cooperate at a truly global level, the top United Nations economic and social affairs official told a gathering of more than 1,500 data experts today.

“Success requires that all communities represented in this room fulfill a critical role and find ways to work together and create partnerships and synergies,” Wu Hongbo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs,

The inaugural United Nations World Data Forum kicked off today in the South African city of Cape Town, bringing together more than 1,500 data experts from more than 100 countries, with the aim of building broad consensus on how to harness the power of data for sustainable development.

Organized by the UN in cooperation with the South African government, the four-day gathering also aims to rally support behind a new global action plan.

“The Forum comes at a crucial time for strengthening data and statistical capacity globally.

The first-ever United Nations World Data Forum is set to kick off in Cape Town, South Africa, on 15 January 2017, with the aim of increasing political and resource support for statistical capacity building worldwide.

“When you are statisticians, you are not normally on the forefront of news,” Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the Statistics Division in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), told a recent press conference ahead of the Cape Town Forum, which also aims to create partnerships and initiatives that harness the power of data for the public good and

The first-ever United Nations World Data Forum is set to kick off in Cape Town, South Africa, on 15 January 2017, with the aim of increasing political and resource support for statistical capacity building worldwide.

“Talking about data, statistics – these are very important subjects for the Member States, right from the beginning – day one – of the discussions about the Sustainable Development Agenda,” said Wu Hongbo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, in an interview with UN News, ahead of the Forum.

Accordg to the UN statisti

It was a morning full of conversation, tips and statistics as a UN World Data Forum Twitter chat event kicked off on 11 January this week.