Statistical Newsletter

Published: 7 January 2011

Fourth Quarter, 2010

The second session of the Committee on Statistics, Bangkok, 15-17 December 2010

First Meeting of Partners for Statistics Development in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, 14 December 2010

Modernizing statistical information systems - Side event to the Committee on Statistics, second session, Bangkok, 17 December 2010

Sixth Session of the Governing Council of SIAP, Bangkok, 13-14 December 2010

ESCAP celebrated World Statistics Day, 20 October 2010

Statistical capacity development activities

o Making data meaningful

workshop for the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics, Suva, 28 September - 1 October 2010United Nations Regional Seminar on Census Data Dissemination and Spatial Analysis, Bangkok, 5-8 October 2010High-level consultative meeting on promoting effective use of statistical data for policy analysis and advocacy, Bangkok, 13-14 December

Training by the Statistical Institute for Asia and the

JAXA-SIAP distance , 5 October

Regional Training Course/Workshop on Pre-Census Communications and Data Dissemination Strategies, Chiba, Japan, 12-15 October

ESCAP Sub-regional Training/Workshop on Dissemination and Communication of MDG Statistics for Effective Use in

Policy and Decision-making, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 18-20 October 2010o Sub-regional Course on Measuring and Improving Survey Quality , Hong Kong, China, 18-22

October 2010o Distance-learning training course on “Introduction to STATA” , 25 October 2010o Regional Course/ Workshop on Population Census Data Analysis using REDATAM , Chiba, Japan,

8-12 November 2010o Country Course on Pre-Census Communications and Data Dissemination Strategies , Colombo,

6-8 December 2010 Other international and regional meetings

o Third Global Forum on Gender Statistics and fourth meeting of the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Gender Statistics (IAEG-GS), Manila, 11-13 October 2010

o Fifth International Conference on Agricultural Statistics , Kampala, 13-15 October 2010o ESCAP sharing experiences with ASEANStats in assessing MDG progress , Jakarta, 20-22

October 2010o Study tour visit to ABS from 7 South-Asian National Statistical Offices under the UNSD

Development Account Project, Canberra, Australia, 25-29 October 2010o Tenth Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics , Luxembourg, 3-5 November

2010o Third International Seminar on Early Warning and Business Cycle Indicators , Moscow, 17-19

November 2010o First meeting of the Task Team on Mainstreaming Disability in MDG monitoring , Geneva, 29

November 2010o 18th Inter-agency and expert group meeting on MDG indicators (IAEG) and Expert group

meeting on MDG indicators, Geveva, 30 November - 2 December 2010 Calendar of forthcoming statistical meetings in the ESCAP region

Staff Movement

Visitors to ESCAP Statistics Division

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The second session of the Committee on Statistics, Bangkok, 15-17 December 2010

The second session of the Committee on Statistics was held in Bangkok from 15 to 17 December 2010.

The session was attended by an unprecedented 173 delegates representing 34 ESCAP members and associate members, including many at the highest Government Statistician level and some at ministerial rank. Of the 34 ESCAP members and associate members which attended the session, six were Small Islands Developing States from the Pacific ensuring that the region was well represented at the session. Eighteen United Nations bodies, intergovernmental agencies and NGOs and representatives of South Africa also attended the session.

The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Mr Chuti Krairiksh, Minister of Information and Communication Technology of Thailand, on behalf of the Royal Thai Government. The Minister recognized the importance of statistics and the crucial role they play in developing the government's evidence-based plans and policies. He stresses the need to focus on data quality as that underlined the country's planning and development. Mr Krairiksh noted the importance of the Committee in providing guidance with respect to producing, disseminating and harmonizing official statistics at national, subregional and regional levels.

The Acting Deputy Executive Secretary and Officer-in-Charge, a.i., ESCAP, Mr Nagesh Kumar, delivered a welcome statement in which he declared the commitment of ESCAP to take a lead role in developing statistics to capture the inclusiveness and sustainability of economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific. At the opening, Mr Paul Cheung, Director, United Nations Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, highlighted the importance of a coordinated approach in building and improving sustainable statistical capacity and emphasized the crucial role of regional forums such as the ESCAP Committee on Statistics in coordination at the regional level.

The Committee reviewed major issues of strategic importance to statistics development in the Asian and Pacific region, including: the strategic direction of the Committee on Statistics, regional initiatives, global initiatives and coordination of capacity building activities.

The Committee made 3 recommendations and 10 decisions including decisions to set up four groups/subgroups to lead work on its behalf in a number of strategic areas.

The Committee adopted the principles and procedures concerning the election of the Bureau, strengthening the mandate of its Bureau by ensuring that the Bureau is elected through a transparent and consultative process. In accordance with the new election procedures, the Committee elected the following officers to the Bureau to collaborate with the secretariat to undertake intersessional work towards the implementation of its decisions and

recommendations:

Chairperson:

Mr Brian Pink (Australia)

Vice-chairpersons:

Mr Jiantang Ma (China)

  Mr T.C.A Anant (India)

  Mr Gerelt-Od Ganbaatar (Mongolia)

Member: Mr Sefuiva Reupena Muagututia (Samoa)

Rapporteur:

Mr Romulo A. Virola (Philippines)

The Committee agreed on a strategic plan to develop national capacities in the region by 2020 to generate a basic range of population, economic, social and environment statistics, which will shape much of the Committee's programme of work over the next decade. The Committee also decided to establish the Technical Advisory Group on social statistics under the guidance of the Bureau to lead the improvement of social statistics in the region. A number of Committee members expressed their intention to bring the issues of statistical capacity development to the attention of the Commission and sponsor a resolution.

Under the broad topic of regional initiatives and in relation to decisions made at its first session, the Committee discussed vital and economic statistics:

The Committee recognized the importance of reliable vital statistics for producing timely and accurate population estimates and other demographic and health statistics, including the Millennium Development Goals, and supported the development of a regional programme for improving vital statistics in the Asian and Pacific region. A number of delegations also offered to submit a draft resolution on improving civil registration and vital statistics systems for the consideration of the Commission at its sixty-seventh session. Recognizing an urgent need to improve economic statistics, the Committee made a number of strategic decisions in this regard. The Committee acknowledged the important work of the ESCAP Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on the Development of Economic Statistics on the proposed core set of economic statistics, which it endorsed as a guideline for developing the capacity of national statistical systems. The committee further recommended that the core set be used as a framework to focus regional efforts, coordinate training and mobilize donor support for capacity-building. A number of member States agreed

to bring the core set the attention of the Commission and sponsor a resolution. Recognizing the important role of the ESCAP Statistics Division in formulating Regional programme for the improvement of economic statistics in Asia and the Pacific, the Committee endorsed the regional programme as a formal strategy for the improvement of economic statistics in the region, in particular endorsing its principles, key components, activities and management arrangements. The Committee also endorsed the role of the secretariat in the implementation of the regional programme and encouraged Committee Members and development partners to actively support its implementation. Furthermore, the Committee decided to transform the TAG to Steering Group for the Regional Programme on Economic Statistics to oversee the implementation of the regional programme.

Under the broad topic of global initiatives the Committee discussed matters related to the International Comparison Programme and the Integration of agricultural statistics into national statistical systems:

Recognizing the importance of the statistics produced by the International Comparison Programme and the opportunities presented by the programme to enhance the statistical infrastructure and strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems to produce price statistics and national accounts among others, the Committee encouraged member States to participate in the 2011 round of the International Comparison Programme. The Committee also expressed its appreciation to the Asian Development Bank for its role in coordinating the programme in the region and stressed the importance of advocacy and awareness-raising activities. Noting the urgency to improve agricultural statistics in the region and the importance of integrating agricultural statistics into national statistical systems, the Committee strongly endorsed the proposal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop, over the next six months, a regional implementation plan for the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics, and requested the secretariat to coordinate this effort in partnership with FAO and other relevant regional and subregional organizations. The Committee agreed that the efforts to improve agricultural and rural statistics should be integrated into the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics and in this regard decided to establish a subgroup on agricultural statistics under the Steering Group for the Regional Programme on the Improvement of Economic Statistics.

Under the broad topic of Coordination of statistical capacity-building activities the Committee discussed matters related to Statistical training and Coordination mechanisms:

The Committee noted the important role of basic statistical training, particularly for the small island developing States and least developed countries of the region and expressed its appreciation to training providers, such as SIAP, and for the support of donor agencies in facilitating participation in training. The Committee recognized that the training needs of the region would continue to grow and diversify, particularly in light of the new regional programmes for improving statistics, and decided to establish a small working group charged with preparing a proposal on the coordination of statistical training in the region.

 The Committee welcomed the establishment of the Partners for Statistics Development in Asia-Pacific (“the Partnership”), recognizing that the Partnership would take coordination at the regional level one step further. The Partnership was urged to make use of existing tools for information sharing, such as the Partner Report on Support to Statistics (PRESS) and requested to report to the Committee on regular basis.

The complete text of the Committee's recommendations and decisions is contained in the table below.

Decisions and Recommendations of the Committee on Statistics at its Second Session

A. Matters calling for action by the Commission

Strategic direction of the Committee on Statistics

Draft recommendation

1. The Committee expresses its full support for the proposed strategic direction, as described in the note by the Bureau (E/ESCAP/CST(2)/2), including its two overarching, strategic goals of (a) ensuring that all countries in the region by 2020 have the capability to provide an agreed basic range of population, economic, social and environment statistics, and (b) creating a more adaptive and cost-effective information management environment for national statistical offices through stronger collaboration.

Core set of economic statistics

Draft recommendation

2. The Committee recommends the use of the core set of economic statistics as a regional framework to focus regional efforts, coordinate training and mobilize donor support for capacity-building.

International Comparison Programme

Draft recommendation

3. Recognizing the importance of the statistics produced by the International Comparison Programme and the opportunities presented by the International Comparison Programme to enhance the statistical infrastructure and strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems to produce price statistics and national accounts among others, the Committee encourages member States to participate in the 2011 round of the International Comparison Programme.

B. Matters brought to the attention of the Commission

Principles and procedures concerning the election of the Bureau

Draft decision

The Committee adopts the principles and procedures concerning the election of the Bureau proposed by the Bureau.

Proposed strategic directions of the Committee on Statistics

Draft decision

In reference to goal 1, the Committee decides to establish a Technical Advisory Group on social statistics. It entrusts its Bureau to develop draft terms of reference for the work of the Technical Advisory Group, for circulation to all members and associate members for approval. On the basis of expressions of interest by member States and development partners, the Bureau will decide on the membership of the Technical Advisory Group, taking into consideration the need for balanced representation in terms of geography and expertise. Mindful of the need for inclusiveness, the Committee invites all members to express their interest in participating in the Technical Advisory Group.

Vital statistics

Draft decision I

The Committee welcomes the offer of several delegations to submit a draft resolution on improving civil registration and vital statistics systems for the consideration of the Commission at its sixty-seventh session.

Draft decision II

Recognizing the importance of reliable vital statistics for producing timely and accurate population estimates and other demographic and health statistics, including the Millennium Development Goals, which are some of the most basic requirements for evidence-based planning and efficient resource allocation, the Committee supports the development of a regional programme for improving vital statistics in the Asian and Pacific region and recommends that the secretariat, under the guidance of the Bureau, continue to develop the regional programme fully in close collaboration with development partners.

Core set of economic statistics

Draft decision

Recognizing the importance of and urgent need for economic statistics, the Committee endorses the core set of economic statistics proposed by the ESCAP Technical Advisory Group on the Development of Economic Statistics, as a guideline for developing the capacity of national statistical systems.

Regional programme for the improvement of economic statistics in Asia and the Pacific

Draft decision

1. The Committee endorses the proposed regional programme for the improvement of economic statistics, as a formal strategy for the improvement of economic statistics in the region. In particular, the Committee endorses the following:

(a) The proposed principles and strategy underpinning the regional programme;

(b) The proposed key components and main activities of the regional programme;

(c) The proposed management arrangements;

(d) The proposal for the transformation of the Technical Advisory Group for the Development of Economic Statistics into a steering group to directly oversee the implementation of the regional programme. The Bureau will review the terms of reference and expand the membership of the Technical Advisory Group to form the membership of the new steering group in consultation with the members of the Committee;

(e) The proposed role of the secretariat in the implementation of the regional programme.

2. The Committee encourages member States and development partners to actively support the implementation of the regional programme by, among other things, providing the necessary funding and other resources on a voluntary basis and through active coordination of efforts.

Integration of agricultural statistics into national statistical systems

Draft decision

1. The Committee strongly endorses the proposal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop, over the next six months, a regional implementation plan for the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics, and requests the secretariat to coordinate this effort in partnership with FAO and other relevant regional and

subregional organizations.

2. The Committee agrees that the regional implementation plan to improve agricultural and rural statistics should be integrated into the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics. In this light, the Committee decides to establish a subgroup on agricultural statistics under the Steering Group for the Regional Programme on the Improvement of Economic Statistics. The Committee decides that the membership of the subgroup should include representatives of national statistical offices, ministries of agriculture and national agricultural policy and research institutes.

Coordination of statistical training

Draft decision

The Committee decided to establish a small working group charged with preparing a proposal on the coordination of statistical training in the region to be put before the Committee, through the Bureau, within six months after the Committee session.

Coordination mechanism

Draft decision

The Committee welcomes the initiative and requests that progress made by the Partners for Statistics Development in Asia-Pacific towards achieving its strategic objectives be reported to the Committee on a regular basis.

Consideration of possible draft resolutions and decisions for submission to the Commission at its sixty-seventh session

Draft decision

The Committee welcomes the offer of several delegations for the submission of draft resolutions on (a) statistical capacity development, (b) improving vital statistics, and (c) the core set of economic statistics in Asia and the Pacific for the consideration and endorsement of the Commission at its sixty-seventh session.

The Committee took note of the report of the Bureau on its activities and report of the Governing Council of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific on its fifth and sixth sessions.

The Committee endorsed the work programme of the secretariat for 2012-2013 and expressed its appreciation that it contained all priority areas discussed during its present session.

The second session of the Committee was convened back-to-back with the sixth session of the Governing Council of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), the First Meeting of Partners for Statistics Development in

Asia-Pacific and the High-level consultative meeting on promoting effective use of statistical data for policy analysis and advocacy.

An exhibition of posters on national statistical achievements and a side event were organized in conjunction with the session. The exhibition contained high quality contributions from 17 member states, SPC and SIAP.

A side event on modernizing statistical information systems in Asia and the Pacific was held on the morning of 17 December. The event highlighted how the Internet had revolutionized the management, exchange and use of statistical information and explored possibilities for regional coordination to support the transformation of statistical information systems.

Further details on the second session of the ESCAP Committee on Statistics are available fromhttp://www.unescap.org/stat/cst/2/index.asp.

 

First Meeting of Partners for Statistics Development in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, 14 December 2010

 

During the first session of the Committee on Statistics held in February 2009, a side event entitled ‘Forum on Statistics Development: Coordinating Support for Statistics Development in Asia and the Pacific’ took place with the main objective of launching a regional coordination mechanism involving all international organizations concerned with the improvement of statistics in Asia and the Pacific.

At the 40th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, member States reviewed statistics development in Asia and the Pacific and requested the ESCAP secretariat to “establish an informal mechanism for donor coordination for statistical development in the region, taking into account existing mechanisms, roles and responsibilities”.

To this end, the ESCAP secretariat together with key international, regional and sub-regional organizations and bilateral donors who are actively engaged in statistics development activities in the Asian and the Pacific region organized the First Meeting of Partners for Statistics Development in Asia-Pacific on 14 December 2010.

Participants agreed to establish the Partnership with the purpose of improving the combined impact of capacity building activities through enhanced synergies and complementarity among international agencies and donors. The meeting discussed the purpose and operation of the Partnership including its membership, organization of

work and modalities for information sharing.

The Partnership supported the strategic direction and priorities outlined in the note prepared by the Bureau of the Committee on Statistics entitled ‘Proposed strategic directions of the Committee on Statistics’. Following these lines, partners agreed that the strategic objectives for the work of the Partnership would be: i) advocacy; ii) strengthening National Statistics Offices role as leaders of National Statistical Systems; iii) modernizing countries’ statistical information systems; iv) coordinating the development of core sets of indicators on economic, social, environment and population statistics; v) work on the improvement of administrative data sources; and vi) and improve coordination of training activities in the region.

Partners also agreed to align its work to the decisions and priorities delineated by the Committee on Statistics and to report progress made by the Partnership, at each Committee session. The group also highlighted the importance of aligning its efforts and cooperation with the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities at the global level.

The group decided that a first step towards the improvement of cooperation and collaboration is information sharing on each partner's work programme and projects. To avoid duplication, the group resolved to make use of and analyze Paris21 Partner Report on Support to Statistics (PRESS) as a basis for sharing information, while allowing the option of improving this existing tool.

The Partnership also requested that the secretariat, in close collaboration with the co-chairs, prepares a document outlining the strategic objectives to be pursued by the partners. More information is available at: http://www.unescap.org/stat/cst/2/1st-stat-dev

 

Modernizing statistical information systems

 

Side event to the Committee on Statistics, second session, Bangkok, 17 December 2010

 

A session on modernizing statistical information systems was organized as a side event to the second session of the Committee on Statistics. The topic of the event was proposed by Australia and Kazakhstan. This event provided

a forum to exchange information and generate discussion on the need for National Statistical Offices to adapt their organizational structure and business processes in response to the Internet revolution and the new needs of data users.

Presentations from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics, Statistics Indonesia, Statistics Office of the Republic of Korea and the PARIS21/Accelerated Data Programme, provided overviews of strategic and operational issues related to modernizing statistical information systems. The presentations were followed by a discussion on the importance of standards, the role of official statistics and potential areas for regional cooperation.

Participants at the side event welcomed the opportunity to discuss this topic and emphasized its fundamental nature to the future strategic direction of national statistical systems. It was noted that modernizing statistical information systems is not about technology solutions, but is rather about strategic business design, such as adapting organizational structures and business processes.

It was suggested that a regional forum is needed to further explore the issues relating to modernizing statistical information systems and to develop methods for working collectively. The secretariat advised the participants of its intention to hold an expert group meeting on this topic in early 2011, which will inform the development of such a forum.

More information is available at: http://www.unescap.org/stat/cst/2/

 

Sixth Session of the Governing Council of SIAP, Bangkok, 13-14 December 2010

 

The Sixth Session of the Governing Council of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) was held from 13 to 14 December in Bangkok, Thailand. The session was held in ESCAP premises back to back with the Committee on Statistics which was held from 15-17 December 2010. Eight out of the nine newly elected members of the Governing Council, including SIAP’s host country Japan, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Thailand attended the session. Member from the Government of Pakistan was not present. Representatives of eleven Governments that are not members of the Council and observers from eight United Nations entities and international bodies also attended the meeting. Director of SIAP served as Secretary of the Council.

Ms Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, welcomed the representatives. The Executive Secretary in her remarks, delivered by Ms Haishan Fu, Director of the ESCAP Statistics Division, expressed her gratitude to the host Government of Japan for its valuable and generous contributions to SIAP over the four decades of existence of the Institute. She highlighted the important role of SIAP has been playing in supporting national development in Asia and the Pacific through training government

officials/statisticians over the last four decades. Since its establishment, the Executive Secretary said SIAP has developed into a premier statistical training institute in Asia and Pacific and has earned the reputation of an institute that not only helps in developing technical skills in statistics, but also contributes towards building a sense of community among the official statisticians, by giving participants the opportunity of building networks and thus enhance South-South cooperation. Further, she emphasized that the 40th anniversary marks a critical juncture in the life of Institute. It is a moment for to collectively reflect on the Institute’s existence, the increasing demand for its services, and on how we can work together to ensure that the Institute stays relevant, maintains its edge and evolves to meet the persistent and emerging needs of countries in the region. Special mention was made of the important collaboration between SIAP and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploratory Agency) in utilizing the satellite WINDS for conducting distance training.

The Executive Secretary expressed the hope that the Governing Council’s observations and guidance will help SIAP to fulfil its mandate and suggested that the Council should discuss ways and means of enhancing the financial stability of SIAP.

The representative of Japan mentioned that SIAP 40th anniversary event was successfully completed with the representatives from many member and associate member States and international

organizations. The Governing Council expressed its appreciation to the Government of Japan, other member and associate member States, international organizations and ESCAP for their support in celebrating the 40th anniversary of SIAP in Tokyo.

After electing the member from Malaysia as the Chair and the member from Japan as the Vice chair, the council adopted the proposed agenda. Accordingly, the Director of SIAP and her staff presented the information relating to SIAP performance, administrative and financial matters during the year 2009. Council reviewed all matters and provided guidance and necessary advice to the effective functioning of the Institute in the future. In the context of increasing responsiveness to diverse training needs of member and associate member States and strengthening the financial basis of SIAP, the Governing Council recommended SIAP to work closely with the Statistics Division of ESCAP and intensify its partnership efforts with UN agencies and international organizations, including ADB, FAO, ILO, IMF, SESRIC, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the World Bank and PARIS 21. Governing Council Members stressed the need for continuing support of the Institute by the Member States and in particular by increasing ownership and financial support to the Institute’s sustainability.

The Governing Council Members reviewed and endorsed the work plan of the Institute for the academic year 2011, which had been developed on the basis of its long term work plan and ESCAP’s strategic framework for 2010-2011 and the draft strategic framework for 2012-2013. The Council advised SIAP to take into consideration the concerns raised relating to the contents of training, accommodating the offers for collaborative training activities with other international agencies, and financial capacity.

ESCAP celebrated World Statistics Day, 20 October 2010

 

On 20th October 2010, Statisticians from 100 countries around the world observed the first ever World Statistics Day under the slogan “Celebrating the many achievements in Statistics” highlighting the three core values of service, professionalism and integrity.

To commemorate the day, Statistics Division, ESCAP, organized a poster exhibition at the United Nations Conference Centre. National Statistical Offices from 16 member countries of the region, SIAP and SPC provided posters, showcasing not only the World Statistics Day's

celebration, but also major national statistical achievements and projects.

As part of the celebrations, the report titled World's Women 2010: Trends and Statistics was also launched for the region during a ceremony co-organized by the Statistics Division and the Social Development Division of ESCAP.

Statistical capacity development activities

 

Making data meaningful workshop for the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics, Suva, 28 September - 1 October 2010

 

Communicating statistics to a growing audience was the focus of four workshop modules run for staff of the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics (FIBOS) last month. Participants discussed the difference between dissemination and communication, the varying needs of the audience or stakeholder groups they serve, how the Internet is changing the way we communicate statistics and the importance of making data meaningful so more people can understand and use them. The four workshop modules will be repeated for another group of FIBOS staff in early 2011. Workshop materials are available on request. Please contact Jessica Gardner, ESCAP Pacific Office Statistician at gardnerj@un.org.

FIBOS staff attend statistics workshop at ESCAP Pacific Office

 

United Nations Regional Seminar on Census Data Dissemination and Spatial Analysis, Bangkok, 5-8 October 2010

 

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), organized the Regional Seminar on Census Data Dissemination and Spatial Analysis in the context of the 2010 World Programme for Population and Housing Censuses.

Participants from 20 countries were provided a forum for sharing national practices and experiences in the dissemination and use of census data. Emerging trends and technological tools employed in the dissemination of census data were reviewed, providing a basis for assessing existing national dissemination strategies as well as technologies used by national statistical offices and the challenges for meeting the increasing requirements of census data users. Furthermore, the discussions helped in identifying good practices and lessons learned in the dissemination and analysis of census data.

The ideas generated and the recommendations made by participants will contribute towards the drafting of an international guideline for effective dissemination and utilization of census data.

More information about the seminar is available at:http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/meetings/wshops/Thailand_5Oct10/default.htm

 

High-level consultative meeting on promoting effective use of statistical data for policy analysis and advocacy, Bangkok, 13-14 December 2010

 

The objective of the meeting was to share examples of good practice and to obtain guidance on developing a regional knowledge base of effective uses of statistical data in policymaking and advocacy. Jointly organized by the Statistics Division of ESCAP, ADB and UNDP, the meeting brought together heads of the national statistical offices, senior officials from national statistical systems and line ministries as well as development partnership organizations.

Reflecting on the examples presented at the meeting, participants discussed what constitutes a good practice and how best to document them. It was stressed that evidence-based policy making is a good practice in itself and when gathering examples, the effective use of data, and not necessarily the effectiveness of the resulting policy or advocacy initiative, would be the determining factor. The high-level consultative meeting yielded recommendations on developing a) a framework for identifying, documenting and disseminating good practices of using statistical data for policy analysis and advocacy with the long-term goal of creating a knowledge base of “what works” in terms of national statistical capacity development in data use, and b) a strategy to promote data use by encouraging the sharing of good experiences. Participants from member States as well as development partners also agreed to a time plan for piloting the framework in 2011.

More information about the meeting is available at: http://www.unescap.org/stat/meet/HLCM/index.asp

 

Training by the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific

 

JAXA-SIAP distance learning, 5 October 2010

 

SIAP conducted its first satellite-used real-time distance learning programme on 5 October 2010 between Thailand and Japan. It was a joint project of SIAP and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), helped by University of Tsukuba in Japan, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and National Electronics and Computer Technology Center

(NECTEC), both in Thailand, and High-Reliability Engineering & Components Corporation (HIREC), a company specializing in space technology. This training course was organized as a project under the agreement between JAXA and ESCAP: Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on 12 December 2008.

The lecture was delivered from University of Tsukuba, Japan, to Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, through Japanese satellite, WINDS, communication network operated by JAXA, a quasi governmental organization of Japan. The diagram below shows the satellite training system.

The high speed communication system enables SIAP to transmit high quality image and sound to and from remote countries equipped with satellite user terminals in real time. It should be effective for professional statistical training which uses huge volumes of detailed data, large tables and complicated graphs.

The topic of the training was an introduction to survey methodology, basic concepts of sampling in particular. 15 participants from Thai National Statistical Office (NSO) attended the training. During the 3 and half hours of training, SIAP lecturer, Mr Aloke Kar, and the Thai NSO participants discussed interactively through the clear image and voices on the screen, as if they were in the same classroom. Calculation and manipulation of data on the Excel sheets were transmitted live so that the participants easily understood the lecturer's explanation with the help of their viewing actual process of data handling.

SIAP has been developing effective modalities of training service delivery by using advanced technologies including internet and satellite. For example, some of its training materials are available on its web page:http://www.unsiap.or.jp/ematerial/ematerial_other/index.php

This satellite training is a part of the undertaking. The success of this trial training should widen the scope of target boundary of SIAP's training service.

 

Regional Training Course/Workshop on Pre-Census Communications and Data Dissemination Strategies, Chiba, Japan, 12-15 October 2010

 

The United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), in collaboration with UNFPA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (APRO) and ESCAP Pacific Office, conducted the regional training course/workshop on pre-census communications and data dissemination strategies. The course was held from 12 to 15 October 2010 at SIAP, Chiba, Japan.

A total of 16 participants from 13 countries, namely, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam benefitted from the training course. Majority of the participating countries are going to conduct their 2010 round Population and Housing Census in coming years while Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam had already conducted.

The course structure was designed by SIAP in consultation with UNFPA APRO and the content was developed and delivered by Ms Jessica Gardner, Statistician, ESCAP Pacific Office and Mr H. Furuta, Lecturer/Statistician, SIAP.

The aim of the course was to improve knowledge and skills of government officials/statisticians on planning pre- and post- census communication including strategies for advocacy, pre-census communication campaigns and post census data dissemination.

The main topics covered were (a) Overview of the census communication, (b) Creating supportive environment for census through advocacy, (c) Pre-census communication campaign, and (d) Post census communication and data utilization. This was a full-time 4-day training course combining lectures and hand-on practical exercises.

Participants involved actively and interactively in the course to take the maximum advantage of the information been shared.

All participants successfully completed the course and received the e-certificates of the course completion. The course evaluation indicated that all participants found the course relevant to their work, and they were satisfied with course level and contents. The evaluation of participants was evidenced by the output of group

works and participants have made remarkable progress in improving their knowledge and skills on communication

during the course.

More information, including the workshop materials, will be made available on the SIAP website athttp://www.unsiap.or.jp.

 

ESCAP Sub-regional Training/Workshop on Dissemination and Communication of MDG Statistics for Effective Use in Policy and Decision-making, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 18-20 October 2010

 

SIAP conducted the Sub-regional Training/Workshop on Dissemination and Communication of MDG Statistics for Effective Use in Policy and Decision-making in Daejeon, Republic of Korea with collaborative assistance from ESCAP-Statistics Division, the Sub regional office for East and North-East Asia (SRO-ENEA), and Statistics Korea (KOSTAT ), Republic of Korea. The workshop was conducted as a component under the United Nations Development Account Project on “Supporting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-based Developing strategies through integrated regional action”.

The workshop brought together participants from National Statistical Organizations (NSO) and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) mainly from countries in the East and North East Asia. The countries that are collaborating with SIAP in training officials through their training institutions (Country Partner Institutions -CPI) were also invited to share and experience the best practices in capacity building for improving MDG data production and dissemination through effective communication. In total there were 20 participants; 11 participants from NSOs representing China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea (4 participants), Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia and Russian Federation and 9 participants from CSOs representing China, Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Russian Federation attended the workshop.

The workshop was designed to increase awareness of national, regional and global MDG monitoring processes and the relevance and use of disaggregated MDG-related data in policy and decision-making. It also strived to enhance skills in disseminating and communicating MDG-related data and indicators, developing relationships with different audiences and presenting data in a way that can be easily understood and used for effectively disseminating and communicating MDG-related data by the participating countries.

In terms of improving the user producer relationships and communication strategies, the workshop helped CSOs better understand how statisticians work and produce the MDG indicators while at the same time helped Statisticians from NSOs understand how they should present and communicate the statistics enabling users and advocates to utilize these effectively in their work.

Workshop was conducted for 3 days and included 8 sessions which covered the following topics:

MDGs in national and sub-national policy making

Use of MDG assessments in policy dialogues/making at global and regional levels Identifying and learning from good practices Why relevant MDG-related data may not be reaching policy and decision-makers Why should statistical products be tailored to specific user needs? On their own, statistics are just numbers-- how to tell their stories Making tables, graphs and maps clear and simple to understand Why monitor the use and impact of MDG statistics?

Participants showed keen interest in acquiring knowledge on the topics included and improving their skills. The Deputy Commissioner of KOSTAT Mr Kim Jin-Gyu inaugurated the course and emphasized the relevance and importance of improved dissemination and communication of information for better use for policy and decision making. The course was concluded on 20th October 2010 to coincide with the World Statistics Day and the closing event was used as an advocacy tool to commemorate the Statistics day which included a special presentation on many country activities.

The course was conducted at the Statistical Training Institute (STI) of KOSTAT in Deajeon where plenty of facilities were available for participants in the heart of the city. SIAP faculty member Gamini de Silva and Ms Jessica Gardner, Statistician from the ESCAP Pacific Operation Centre (EPO) conducted the workshop during the three days.

The participants' evaluation and speeches in the closing ceremony indicated that all the participants had gained good knowledge from the course. SRO and KOSTAT both showed keen interest in collaborating with SIAP for capacity building programmes in the future.

More information is available at: http://www.unsiap.or.jp/training/mdg_k2010.php

 

Sub-regional Course on Measuring and Improving Survey Quality, Hong Kong, China, 18-22 October 2010

 

The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), in collaboration with the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, conducted a “Sub-regional Course on Measuring and Improving Survey Quality ” in Hong Kong, China from 18 to 22 October 2010. The main objective of the course was to raise awareness of and provide a comprehensive understanding of the issues relating to quality of survey data collected through surveys conducted for official statistical work.

The course was designed for the middle-level government statisticians who perform the tasks relating to survey operations, and analysis of survey results and was attended by 26 middle level officials of the national statistical offices – 5 from China; 13 from Hong Kong, China; 5 from Macao, China; 1 from Malaysia and 2 from Singapore. It was a mixed group of officials, some with relatively long experience and others with little exposure to surveys conducted by the NSOs. There were, however, survey project directors, data collection managers, survey specialists, statisticians and data processors among the participants.

The main objective of the course was to help the trainees

1. obtain a clear idea of the basic principles and concepts of survey measurement quality with particular emphasis on sampling and non-sampling errors;

2. acquire the competencies of measuring and studying of survey measurement quality; and3. gain an understanding of the issues related to the improvement of survey measurement quality that are

encountered in practical survey work in official statistics, and develop basic skills in resolving them.

The topics covered in various sessions of the course included discussions on the concepts of total survey error, classification and major sources of error, in particular, a) the origins of each error source, b) methods that have been proposed for reducing errors emanating from these error sources, and c) methods used for evaluating the effects of the source on total survey error. Discussions on measuring sampling error, confidence intervals, cost-error tradeoffs in survey design, and methods for evaluating survey data were also included in the course. The main focus, however, was on the definitions and analysis of indicators for quality reporting in practical situations to enhance the various stages of survey processes, and to reduce total survey errors by the best use of survey resources.

The Assistant Commissioner of Census and Statistics Department(C&SD), Hong Kong, Mr Alvin Wing Kong Li, inaugurated the course and emphasized the relevance and importance of improved survey data quality for better use for policy and decision making. During the course, as a part of observance of the World Statistics Day - 20th October 2010 the message from the UN Secretary General was read by the course director. The Association of Hong Kong Statistical Society (HKSS) organised an academic seminar to mark the first World Statistics Day in the evening of 20th October, which was followed by a dinner co-hosted by the C&SD and HKSS. All the participants and resource persons

of the course were invited to attend the seminar and the dinner.

The course was conducted at the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI) of the Government of Hong Kong, China where plenty of facilities were available for participants in the heart of the city. SIAP faculty

member Mr Aloke Kar and Dr. Jose Ramon Gatmaitan Albert, Consultant, SIAP, conducted the workshop during the five days. Ms Kennis Lo, Statistician, C&SD, Hong Kong, made valuable contribution as a resource person by sharing her experience of measures taken to assure quality of official statistics in Hong Kong.

Participants showed keen interest in acquiring knowledge on the topics included and improving their skills. In spite of the diverse level of exposure to survey sampling, most of the participants stated that the course level was just right. The course content was found very useful by about a third of the participants and about 80 % of the participants found the duration of the course just right. However, there were suggestions for extending the training to 7 working days. All participants thought the course was relevant to their work. The course materials/handouts, and presentation techniques were assessed positively by the participants, rating them either ‘very good' (74%) or ‘good'(26%).

 

Distance-learning training course on “Introduction to STATA”, 25 October 2010

 

The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) conducted a distance-learning training course on 25 October 2010 for three countries – Cambodia, Mongolia and Syria - with assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This training course was organised jointly by SIAP, JICA and respective NSOs of these three countries.

This distance-learning training course on “Introduction to STATA” was a complementary or preparatory training for the First Group Training Course in Production and Development of Official Statistics in Support for National Development Including the Achievements of MDGs (PDOS) which is scheduled to be conducted jointly by SIAP and JICA from 15 November 2010 to 18 March 2011 at the premises of SIAP, Chiba, Japan. The selected participants from Cambodia, Mongolia and Syria were required to attend this course. The course curriculum was designed for official statisticians of those invited three countries to introduce STATA software for statistical data inspection and data analysis.

The main objectives of this distance-learning training course were: a) to increase the basic capability of trainees in the use of STATA software; b) to provide trainees with the basic skills to inspect statistical data and carry out descriptive analysis using STATA and c) to prepare trainees for further statistical training courses, namely Tokyo-based, regional, sub-regional and country courses. The course covered topics such as getting started with STATA and basic commands to inspect datasets.

In total 22 statisticians participated in this training course including those 6 participants who were selected to attend the PDOS Course. There were 20 female participants and both participants from Cambodia were males.

SIAP faculty member Ms Gereltuya delivered the lecture and provided hands-on exercise as a home-work.

 

Regional Course/ Workshop on Population Census Data Analysis using REDATAM, Chiba, Japan, 8-12 November 2010

 

The second regional course/workshop on population census data analysis using REDATAM was conducted in collaboration with ECLAC-CELADE at SIAP, Chiba, Japan from 8 to 12 November 2010. The course/workshop was conducted under the APRO-UNFPA/ESCAP project “Statistical capacity building for undertaking the 2010 Round Population and Housing Census integrated with gender concerns”. A total of 19 participants from 16 countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Marshall Island, Pakistan, Solomon Islands, Sri-Lanka, Thailand Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Viet Nam have improved their knowledge on processing, analyzing and dissemination of population census results.

The main objectives of the course were a) to promote the use of the REDATAM computer package in the Asia pacific region for the processing of census micro data looking for the coming 2010 round population; b) to prepare a cadre of skilled staff in the use of the REDATAM computer package; and c) to crate the capacity for demographic analysis based on census microdata using REDATAM software.

The main topics of the course were introduction to the REDTATAM +SP family, processing Module: Easy tables, the command editor: Writing outputs and filters, new variables with RECODE, new variables with EXPRESSION, new variables with COUNT, create indicators with COUNT and EXPRESSION, create indicators with SWITCH, promoting information in the hierarchy, adding a map to REDATAM +SP, saving variables in the database, matrix operations in REDATAM +SP and REDATAM tools: Managing databases with EXPAND, EXTEND AND APPEND.

Based on the course evaluation by participants it can be concluded that the training course on REDATAM software was an effective course in creation of 2010 round population and housing census database and its utilization in statistical data analysis of population and social indicators collected in the census.

 

Country Course on Pre-Census Communications and Data Dissemination Strategies, Colombo, 6-8 December 2010

 

The country course entitled as “Pre-Census Communications and Data Dissemination Strategies” was conducted in

Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 6 to 8 December 2010 in collaboration with the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), Sri Lanka and UNFPA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific under SIAP's outreach training programme. The UNFPA provided with financial support and DCS provided administrative and logistic support while SIAP was responsible for developing course schedule and conducting the course.

In total, 20 officials of DCS participated in the course. There were 7 lady officers among the participants. Half of them were from Population Census and Demographic Division.

The course director was Mr H. Furuta, Lecturer/Statistician, SIAP and the course was mainly delivered by Ms Monina Collado, consultant of the course.

The course aimed to improve knowledge and skills of government officials/statisticians on planning pre and post census communication including strategies for advocacy, pre-census communication campaigns and post census data dissemination. The course covered the following topics: (a) Overview of the census communication, (b) Creating supportive environment for census through advocacy, (c) Advocacy and publicity campaign, and (d) Post census communication and data utilization.

The course was conducted for 3 days consisting 10 sessions of 75 minutes at the classroom of Training Division, DCS. The opening ceremony started with lighting oil lamp, followed by speech by Director General, DCS and message from SIAP Director. The course was a good mixture of lecture sessions and practical sessions. Group discussions and group works were held to deepen participants' understandings. In total, four group discussions and one group work including presentation were held.

All participants successfully completed the course and received the e-certificates of the course completion. According to the course evaluation, except for course duration, all 20 participants agreed that course level, content, relevance, materials, presentation technique and time allocated to questions/discussion were in line with expectations. One felt the duration was too short. The evaluation of participants was evidenced by the output of group works and participants have made remarkable progress in improving their knowledge and skills on communication during the course.

Sri Lanka 's 2011 Population Census, while the census date is not finalized, will be the first full enumeration covering the whole country after 30 years of period.

Wish the successful conduction of the census!

 

Other international and regional meetings

 

Third Global Forum on Gender Statistics and fourth meeting of the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Gender Statistics (IAEG-GS), Manila, 11-13 October 2010

 

United Nations Statistics Division in collaboration with the National Statistical Coordination Board of the Philippines organized in Manila, Philippines, the third Global Forum on Gender Statistics, 11-13 October 2010, and the fourth meeting of the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Gender Statistics (IAEG-GS), 14 October 2010. Ms Margarita Guerrero and Ms Sharita Serrao represented the Statistics Division of ESCAP in both meetings.

The Global Forum on Gender Statistics was organized with the broad objectives of promoting the institutionalization of gender mainstreaming in national statistical systems, and highlighting the need for statistics to respond to requirements in monitoring progress of gender equity goals and targets including the MDGs, PRSPs, BPFA and CEDAW. The main focus of the global forum this year was on the gender dimensions of health statistics, with the forum providing opportunity to take stock of national practices and methodological advances in the measurement of health and gender statistics through civil registration and vital statistics systems and through household surveys and population census. Country needs and priorities, as well as recommendations and action-oriented steps were identified at the global forum, in the areas of statistics related to maternal mortality and causes of death, time-use and the care economy, gender-based violence, and measuring the gender dimensions of persons with disabilities.

The IAEG-GS meeting reviewed the work and work modalities of its three advisory groups on global gender statistics and indicators database, training activities and curricula, and statistical legislation related to gender statistics. The scope and outline of the group's work for 2010-11 were also discussed.

Both meetings provided an opportunity for the Statistics Division to provide updates on its activities and plans related to gender statistics and to know more about related work by other agencies. The meetings were very relevant and useful to inform the development of the Asia-Pacific regional programme on gender statistics for which the Statistics Division is in the process of conducting consultations with member States and partners.

 

Fifth International Conference on Agricultural Statistics, Kampala, 13-15 October 2010

 

ICAS-V (http://www.icas-v.org/) brought together well over 300 producers and users of agricultural statistics from all over the world. The focus of the conference was on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Improving Agricultural and Rural Statistics, the technical content and strategic directions of which had been endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its session in February 2010. The implementation of the Global Strategy is

foreseen to take place through regional implementation plans. The development of such a plan for Asia and the Pacific was subsequently strongly endorsed by the ESCAP Committee on Statistics at is session in December 2010.

Jan Smit, Chief of the Statistical Development and Analysis Section, participated in ICAS-V on behalf of ESCAP. As the co-organizer of the session, together with Margarita Guerrero, Regional Advisor on Statistics, he, among others, chaired the session on Economic Statistics. A main item of discussion during this session was a proposal by the United Nations Statistics Division for a common strategic framework, data and metadata template and diagnostic tool for various programmes for the development of macroeconomic statistics.

 

ESCAP sharing experiences with ASEANStats in assessing MDG progress, Jakarta, 20-22 October 2010

 

The ASEAN Secretariat organized a workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia (20-22 October 2010) to explore the tracking of progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals at the subregional level. The workshop agreed to push forward the idea of having 27 indicators monitored regularly beginning in 2011. Participants of the workshop, including national MDG focal points of the ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Secretariat and invited experts, discussed and agreed on the outline of the first issue of the “ASEAN Statistical Report on MDGs Indicators”. Yanhong Zhang attended the workshop on behalf of ESCAP and contributed to discussions by sharing experiences of the Statistics Division of ESCAP in assessing MDG progress at the regional level, particularly regarding classifying countries/regions according to status of progress, handling discrepancies of international and national data sources, (data comparability vis-à-vis relevance in national context), graphic and tabular presentation of statistical data and methodological issues for consideration in producing aggregates.

 

Study tour visit to ABS from 7 South-Asian National Statistical Offices under the UNSD Development Account Project, Canberra, Australia, 25-29 October 2010

 

Eight staff from 7 South-Asian National Statistical Offices visited the Australian Bureau of Statistics in Canberra, Australia, from 25 to 29 October 2010 during a study visit under the UNSD Development Account Project for the Strengthening of the Statistical Capacity of South Asia. Mr Eric Hermouet from the Statistics Division of ESCAP coordinated the study tour on behalf of UNSD and delivered a background presentation on the project.

The participating countries of the study tour were: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The study tour covered a wide scope of topics ranging from data production, to data management and data dissemination. It was organized in the form of training sessions, with resource persons from relevant entities within ABS.

 

Tenth Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, Luxembourg, 3-5 November 2010

 

The Tenth Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics was held in Luxembourg, Luxembourg from3 to 5 November 2010. The Statistics Division of ESCAP was represented by Mr Andres Montes. The primary focus of the meeting was the discussion of the results of the cognitive tests conducted in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe by the Granada Group. The meeting also served as a venue to discuss the pilot test undertaken by Cambodia, Kazkahstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Philippines and Sri Lanka, which were part of ESCAP's UN Development Account project on disability statistics. Group discussions encompassed the understanding of methodological issues involved in both types of testing with the objective of agreeing on a final extended question set. As part of ESCAP's work on disability statistics, an Expert Group Meeting will take place during the first week of February 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss the findings of a second round of cognitive testing in Asia and the Pacific.

 

Third International Seminar on Early Warning and Business Cycle Indicators, Moscow, 17-19 November 2010

 

UNSD/DESA, Eurostat, Statistics Canada, Statistics Netherlands and the Federal State Statistics Service (RosStat) of the Russian Federation jointly organized the Third International Seminar on Early Warning and Business Cycle Indicators in Moscow, Russian Federation from 17 to 19 November 2010. Mr Artur Andrysiak contributed to and participated on behalf of the ESCAP Statistics Division.

The seminar was the last of the UNSD/DESA series of seminars on the methodology on generating high quality rapid or 'flash' estimates of economic performance, their international comparability, the communication strategy of such estimates and the development of additional synthesis indicators on the performance of the real economy and the financial markets for effective monitoring. The seminar formulated recommendations for the monitoring of business cycles and early identification of turning points, as well as strategies for future work on improving statistical tools for this purpose. These recommendations will be presented to the United Nations Statistical Commission at its next session in March 2011.

The ESCAP Statistics Division contributed on behalf of the ESCAP Technical Advisory Group on the Development of Economic Statistics (TAG) a paper titled The proposed core set of economic statistics for Asia and the Pacific and its comparison with other data templates. The paper introduced a proposed Core Set of Economic Statistics that the TAG has been charged with developing following a decision of the Committee at its first session. During the seminar, Artur also presented the proposed core set of economic statistics for Asia and the Pacific, providing the

participants with an update on the current ESCAP work aimed at improving the economic statistics in the Asian and Pacific region.

 

First meeting of the Task Team on Mainstreaming Disability in MDG monitoring, Geneva, 29 November 2010

 

The aim of the meeting, in which Jan Smit, Chief of the Statistical Development and Analysis Section, participated on the behalf of ESCAP, was to explore ways to monitor progress towards the MDGs for persons with disabilities at the global and regional levels. The meeting reviewed various data sources that could possibly be used for such monitoring, but concluded that internationally comparable trend data were lacking. It was decided that future work in the area should build on the work undertaken by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, which is working closely with ESCAP on the development of standards for disability measurement, the identification and dissemination of good country practices, and further advocacy for the importance of measuring progress towards MDGs for persons with disabilities.

 

18th Inter-agency and expert group meeting on MDG indicators (IAEG) and Expert group meeting on MDG indicators, Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2010

 

The IAEG meeting discussed the implications for progress tracking of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on MDGs that took place in September 2010 (http://www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010/) and reviewed the work on publications and indicators being undertaken by the United Nations Secretariat and international agencies.

The EGM reviewed the work done by international agencies and regional commissions on improving MDG data and reporting systems, as well as the work undertaken by selected countries, including Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, on MDG indicators for national and sub-national monitoring.

Jan Smit, Chief of the Statistical Development and Analysis Section, participated in both meetings. He, among others, briefed the meetings on the work done by the tripartite partnership of ESCAP, ADB and UNDP on the tracking of progress towards the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific and on statistical capacity building in the areas of civil registration and vital statistics, disaggregated data production and data analysis and use.

 

Calendar of forthcoming statistical meetings in the ESCAP region

 

The calendar of all international meetings related to official statistics in Asia and the Pacific is maintained athttp://www.unescap.org/stat/meet/events_Asia_Pacific.asp

 

Date Organizer Meeting Venue

2011

15 November 2010 – 18 March 2011

SIAP 1st Group Training Course in Production and Development of Official Statistics in support for National Development including the Achievement of MDGshttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

17-21 January SIAPResearch-based Training Course – Phase 2http://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

24 January – 18 February

SIAPResearch-based Training Course – Phase 3 (through e-mail communication)http://www.unsiap.or.jp/

 

1-3 February ESCAP/SDExpert Group Meeting on the Analysis of the Second Round of Cognitive Testing on Disabilityhttp://www.unescap.org/stat/

Bangkok

February SIAPSIAP/JAXA e-learning training for the National Statistical Office of Mongoliahttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

 

February SIAPCountry Course on Survey Data Analysis and Interpretation Using STATA Softwarehttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Nay Pyi Taw

22-24 March SIAPSIAP/IMF Workshop for Implementing the System of National Accounts (SNA) and International comparison Programme (ICP)http://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

3 days in the first quarter

ESCAP/SDTechnical solutions for dissemination of national official statistics in the ESCAP regionhttp://www.unescap.org/stat/

Bangkok

2-3 days in the second quarter

ESCAP/SD Expert Group Meeting on the Development and Improvement of Business Registers in the Asian and Pacific Region

Bangkok

http://www.unescap.org/stat/

2nd quarter SIAP2nd Regional Training Course/Workshop on Genderizing Population and Housing Censushttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

2nd quarter SIAP3rd Regional Training Course/Workshop on Population and Census Data Analysis Using REDATAMhttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

May – July SIAPSIAP/JICA 2nd Group Training Course in Application of Information Management and Related ICT for Official Statisticshttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

2 days in the third quarter

ESCAP/SDMeeting of the technical advisory group on development of gender statistics in Asia and the Pacifichttp://www.unescap.org/stat/

Bangkok

August – December

SIAP

SIAP/JICA 2nd Group Training Course in Production and Development of Official Statistics in support for National Development including the Achievement of MDGshttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

3 days in the fourth quarter

ESCAP/SDRegional consultation-cum-workshop on the core set of gender statisticshttp://www.unescap.org/stat/

Bangkok

December SIAP7th session of the Governing Council of SIAPhttp://www.unsiap.or.jp/

Chiba, Japan

 

Staff Movement

 

Ms Jillian Campbell joined the Statistics Division as a Statistician in the Statistical Information Services Section in November 2010. Prior to Ms Campbell’s appointment, she worked on national accounts for the United Nations Statistics Division in New York. She has also worked for a statistical consulting firm and for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Ms Campbell holds a masters degree in statistics from the University of Missouri in United States.

 

Visitors to ESCAP Statistics Division

 

Mr Simon Farbenbloom, Minister and Deputy Head of Mission and PR to ESCAP, Australian Embassy, Bangkok

Mr Adam Warren, Deputy Permanent Representative to ESCAP,Australian Embassy, Bangkok Mr Bengt Ekman, Minister, Sida Country Manager Myanmar, Embassy of Sweden, Bangkok Ms Patricia Alexander, Consultant Economist

 

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