A sign on display around the venue
On the second day of the second UN World Data Forum, participants attended a variety of parallel sessions addressing the Forum’s six themes:
- innovations and synergies across data ecosystems;
- leaving no one behind;
- building trust in data and statistics;
- how far have we come?;
- understanding the world through data; and
- new approaches to capacity development for better data.
The day opened with a session addressing the political economy of statistical capacity, during which panelists noted previous speakers’ comparisons of statistics to water, oil, currency, or an otherwise-vital force, noting that we only tend to recognize when it is missing or of poor quality. Additional issues raised during this session included the need to:
- think of data as the soft infrastructure of development;
- capture the benefits from data driving action at local level;
- engage statisticians in the preparation and presentation of Voluntary National Reviews; and
- participate in the review of the SDGs process that will take place in the context of the 2019 meetings of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
UN World Data Forum participants also engaged in discussions on whether National Statistical Offices (NSOs) will exist in 2030, arriving at the answer of yes, due to their ability to deliver consistency over time and space, high standards for accuracy, and independence. A discussion on gender data impact stories considered the relationship between a single human story and the data that describe a broader story that has the potential to influence policymakers towards more gender responsive policies. Additional sessions on Tuesday addressed: trust in data; capacity building for a number of communities, including diplomats and policy-makers; the contribution of data to the lives of children and migrants; community-based data collection; the data revolution and cooperation; Earth observation applications; civil registration and digital identity; and statistical literacy.During the evening, the host country treated participants to a performance of “La Perle” – a show that combines artistic performance, creative imagery and ground-breaking technology.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and a summary report from the UN World Data Forum 2018, which is availabe in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Morning Plenary
Participants during the morning plenary
José Antonio Mejía Guerra, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Hernán Muñoz, National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), Argentina
Michel Mouyelo-Katoula, African Development Bank (AfDB)
Haishan Fu, Development Data Group, World Bank Group
Oliver Chinganya, Director, African Centre for Statistics, UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
Philipp Schönrock, Director, Centro de Pensamiento Estratégico Internacional (CEPEI)
Thomas Gass, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Parallel Sessions Throughout the Day
Panel speakers for the session "Gender Data Impact Stories: From Data to Action" (L-R): Shaida Badiee, Managing Director, Open Data Watch; Henriette Jansen, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Asia; Fredrick Makumbi, Uganda Principal Investigator, Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020; Emily Courey Pryor, Executive Director, Data2X; Daniela Ligiero, Executive Director and CEO, Together for Girls; Marjo Bruun, Director General, Statistics Finland; Rajesh Mirchandani, Chief Communications Officer, UN Foundation; and Nina Rabinovitch Blecker, Data2X
Henriette Jansen, UNFPA Asia
Fredrick Makumbi, Uganda Principal Investigator, Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020
Panel speakers for the session "Will National Statistical Offices Exist in 2030: And if they do still exist what will they look like?" (L-R): Claire Melamed, Executive Director, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data; Ola Awad, President, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS); Zachary Mwangi Chege, Director General, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS); Rob Bumpstead, UK Statistics Authority; Oliver Chinganya, Director, African Centre for Statistics, UNECA; and Stefan Schweinfest, Director, Statistics Division, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
Ola Awad, President, PCBS
Stefan Schweinfest, Director, Statistics Division, UNDESA
Panel speakers for the session "Data and diplomats: capacity development for diplomats and policy-makers in the data age" (L-R): Javier Teran, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA); Katharina Höne, DiploFoundation; Maria Fasli, Director, Institute for Analytics and Data Science; Graham Nelson, British Diplomatic Service; and Grace Mutung’u, Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet)
Maria Fasli, Director, Institute for Analytics and Data Science
Javier Teran, UNOCHA
Panel speakers for the session "Earth Observation Applications for the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities for Scaling Successful Methods" (L-R): Argyro Kavvada, Executive Secretary, Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Earth Observations for the Sustainable Development Goals (EO4SDG) Initiative; Robert Ndugwa, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat); Jillian Campbell; UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Enrique Ordaz, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), Mexico; Marc Paganini, European Space Agency (ESA); and Robert Chen, Director, Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Argyro Kavvada, Executive Secretary, GEO EO4SDG Initiative
Marc Paganini, ESA
Panel speakers for the session "Integrating Civil Registration and Digital Identity: Emerging Best Practices" (L-R): Bill Anderson, Development Initiatives; Haishan Fu, World Bank’s Development Data Group; Josie Perez, Philippine Statistics Authority; Anette Forsingdal, Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Namibia; Anir Chowdhury, Cabinet Office Policy Advisor, Bangladesh; Edward Duffus, Plan International; and Philip Setel, Vital Strategies
Josie Perez, Philippine Statistics Authority
Anette Forsingdal, Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Namibia
Panel speakers for the session "Analytics for Public Good" (L-R): Sabir Said Rashid Al-Harbi, Director General, Gulf Cooperation Council Statistical Center (GCC-Stat); Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General, Smart Dubai; Mete Guney, Mastercard; Robert Kirkpatrick, Director, UN Global Pulse; and Alexandra Mousavizadeh, CEO, Decima Global
Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General, Smart Dubai
Mete Guney, Mastercard
Panel speakers for the session "Follow the data: Building better data systems for better health" (L-R): Kelly Henning, Bloomberg Philanthropies; Philip Sete, Vital Strategies; Yusuf Murangwa, Director General, National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR); Anir Chowdhury, Cabinet Office Policy Advisor, Bangladesh; Lola Dare, President, Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD) Nigeria; and Richard Delaney, Vital Strategies
Anir Chowdhury, Cabinet Office Policy Advisor, Bangladesh
Lola Dare, President, CHESTRAD Nigeria
Panel speakers for the session "Matchmaking for the Data Revolution: Bringing Data Producers and Users Together" (L-R): Dierdre Appel, Open Data Watch; Paige Kirby, Development Gateway; Ayush Ariunzaya, Chairwoman, National Statistical Office, Mongolia; Natalia Carfi, Open Data Charter; and Harpinder Collacott, Development Initiatives
Natalia Carfi, Open Data Charter
Ayush Ariunzaya, Chairwoman, National Statistical Office, Mongolia
Panel speakers for the session "Building strong National Statistical Systems - The Case of Business (and other) Register Data" (L-R): Omar Seidu, Ghana Statistical Service; Silja Emmel, Statistics Denmark; Haakon Olderbakk, Brønnøysund Register Centre; Hanan Abbass, Central Bureau of Statistics, Sudan; Omurbek Ibraev, National Statistics Committee, Kyrgyzstan; Anne Abelsæth, Statistics Norway; Rasmus Larsson, Statistics Sweden; Benson Karugu Ndungu, Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS); and Lasse Sandberg, Statistics Norway
Rasmus Larsson, Statistics Sweden, and Benson Karugu Ndungu, KNBS
Omurbek Ibraev, National Statistics Committee, Kyrgyzstan, and Anne Abelsæth, Statistics Norway
Plenary Session: Increasing Trust in Data and Statistics
Moderator Rajesh Mirchandani, Chief Communications Officer, UN Foundation
Shaida Badiee, Managing Director, Open Data Watch
Georges-Simon Ulrich, Director-General, Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland
Martine Durand, Director of Statistics and Chief Statistician, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Nnenna Nwakanma, World Wide Web Foundation
Audience members participate in the session by completing different surveys with live results
Around the Venue
Participants between sessions
Around the exhibition area
Participants engage with an interactive display
A drone on display in the exhibition area
A participant from the UAE engages with a robot
The peak of the Burj Al Arab, the third tallest hotel in the world, seen from the venue
