Open Data Watch

Second Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific
2021-11-16 08:00 - 2021-11-19 17:00 (America/New_York) | Bangkok, Thailand
The current COVID-19 crisis sheds light on the need for resilient civil registration systems which will be reflected in the new programme for the Conference. A report on the situation of CRVS in the region at the midterm of the Decade has been published, as well as papers exploring different aspects of CRVS. Side-events are occurring in the build-up to inform stakeholders and leave space and time for discussions on how to best address remaining challenges to achieving the CRVS Decade goals and targets. The content of the different sessions to be held was discussed at Regional Steering Group meetings, and partners and countries are now working to ensure maximal participation to the Conference.

UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)
2021-10-31 - 2021-11-12 | The Scottish Event Campus
The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.

G20 Rome Summit
2021-10-30 - 2021-10-31 | Rome Convention Centre
The G20 is the international forum that brings together the world’s major economies. Its members account for more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet.
The forum has met every year since 1999 and includes, since 2008, a yearly Summit, with the participation of the respective Heads of State and Government.

United Nations World Data Forum
2021-10-03 08:00 - 2021-10-06 17:00 (America/New_York) | Bern, Switzerland
The third UN World Data Forum will take place in Bern, Switzerland, from 3 to 6 October 2021. It will be hosted by the Swiss Confederation, with substantive support from the Federal Statistical Office of Switzerland, under the guidance of the United Nations Statistical Commission and the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Open Data for National Statistics: Progress and Future Plans
2021-02-24 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Webinar
▶ View a recording of the webinar here.

Open Data Watch has just released the 5th Annual Open Data Inventory (ODIN) Report. This report presents a snapshot of the global progress on open data and analysis of the ODIN 2020/21 findings that were released in early December 2020. This report is released along the sidelines of the 52nd session of the United Nations Statistical Commission- an opportunity to further develop and increase the value of the workstream on open data started at the 49th session in 2018 (Agenda item 3(c)). ODIN is the only global measure of the openness of national statistics, covering 187 countries in the latest edition. The index is currently used by many countries as a benchmark of their progress to open up statistical data in their country.
The event will be 90-minutes long. A welcome by the hosts, including remarks on the state of open data in official statistics, will be followed by a panel of five speakers from NSOs who each will share their experiences in implementing successful strategies to improve open data, as well as the challenges they faced and future projects. These presentations will be focused on what has worked and where challenges and barriers remain, as well as advice for other NSOs looking to achieve similar successes.
Introductory remarks

Francesca Perucci, Chief of Development Data and Outreach Branch, UN Statistics Division

Presentation on results of ODIN 2020/21 Annual Report

Jamison Crowell, Open Data Manager, Open Data Watch

A panel discussion with five NSOs on how they were able to achieve their progress
Moderated by Shaida Badiee (Managing Director, Open Data Watch) with the following speakers:

Latifa Alshehhi, Head of Smart Data Section, Federal Competitiveness Statistics Centre, UAE
Burt Collymore, Database Systems Engineer, Central Statistical Office, St. Lucia
Iwan Sno, Director, General Statistics Bureau, Suriname
Akrom Sultanov, Department Head of Open Data Portal, UzStat, Uzbekistan
Ruth Minja, Principal Statistician, National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania

Q&A with audience
Remarks summing up presentations

Eric Swanson, Director of Research, Open Data Watch

RESOURCES FOR THE EVENT

Open Data Inventory 2020/2021 Annual Report
ODIN website
ODIN Social Media Kit

IODC 2020 International Open Data Conference
2020-11-18 08:00 - 2020-11-20 17:00 (America/New_York) | Nairobi, Kenya
The 6th edition of IODC will be hosted by the Government of Kenya with support from the OD4D Network, IDRC, and the World Bank.
The conference programme will be co-created with the community via an open call for proposals to ensure a diverse agenda of interactive sessions, workshops, and ancillary events. A special focus will be placed on building bridges with the broader data community, exploring how to bring the power of the newest technologies to some of the world’s oldest problems and creating new models for collaboration to drive social and economic value from open data in Africa and around the world.

A Virtual United Nations World Data Forum
2020-10-19 00:00 - 2020-10-21 00:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
The Programme of the UN World Data Forum is organized around six main thematic areas covering a wide range of topics and developed through an open call for session proposals.The forum is designed to bring together representatives, users, and producers, from various sectors working with data to support the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Contributions under each thematic area should showcase practical solutions and hands-on experiences, and contribute to delivering better data for evidence-based policymaking and address pressing issues faced by the global data and statistical communities.
Throughout the forum, participants will have opportunities to interact in a variety of session formats, including plenary sessions, round table dialogues, debates, break-out spaces, innovation labs and workshops, knowledge sharing spaces, exhibits, and virtual forums.

The High-level Political Forum 2020
2020-07-07 08:00 - 2020-07-17 17:00 (America/New_York) | United Nations, New York, NY, 10017, United States
The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2020 convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, will be held from Tuesday, 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020, including the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 14 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020. The theme will be “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development “.
In accordance with paragraph 84 of the 2030 Agenda, Member States have decided that the HLPF shall carry out regular voluntary reviews (VNR) of the 2030 Agenda which will include developed and developing countries as well as relevant UN entities and other stakeholders. The reviews are state-led, involving ministerial and other relevant high-level participants, and provide a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders.
In 2020, 50 countries will present their national voluntary reviews to the HLPF. The VNR presentations are planned to begin on Monday, 13 July 2020 and proceed for the three days of the ministerial segment of HLPF.

The Impact of COVID-19 on National Statistical Offices: Accelerating Innovation
2020-05-28 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Webinar
As with all activities, data collection by National Statistical Offices (NSO) was disrupted by the quarantine measures undertaken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact was particularly felt in those activities that rely on face-to-face interviews, such as household surveys and censuses.
The abruptness of the quarantine measures meant that changes in data collection efforts had to be done quickly and that new approaches and data sources had to be tried. This seminar will present the experience of NSOs in the use of new data collection methods and data sources to continue with their regular flows of statistics and to satisfy new demands for information.

Virtual Debate: How Can We Leverage Population Data In A Time Of Crisis?
2020-05-19 09:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Webinar
With 10 years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential to understand where people are located, what conditions they are facing, what infrastructure is available and what basic services they can access. New approaches to population data could hold the key to meeting these vital global targets. Gridded population maps distribute data using grid cells, combining census results with additional information, such as geospatial data from satellites. While gridded population data is a powerful tool for sustainable development, many policymakers and researchers are still unaware of its potential uses.
In this special virtual debate, SDSN TReNDS is teaming up with SciDev.Net to convene an expert panel to help demystify gridded population data and debate how population data can help tackle global crises.

Gender Data Series: Mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls
2020-05-12 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | Webinar
The COVID-19 outbreak has uncovered pressure points impacting women and girls across an array of key issues including increased cases of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation, capacity to earn a living and obtaining financial independence, and reduced access to sexual and reproductive health services.
On May 12, 2020, Devex and Facebook are launching a series of ten virtual workshops to create a better understanding of the gender-related issues highlighted by the current pandemic and to share important lessons learned about how data can help inform better responses to the current and future pandemics.
By bringing together experts from across sectors, the practical series of virtual events seek to build the capacity and empower non-profits, development professionals, and key stakeholders such as ministries of health to better understand the potential and possibilities of freely available data sets for improving their response for women and girls.

Africa Gender Data Network Webinar Series: Building a case for disaggregated data
2020-05-07 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
The purpose of this webinar is to share best practices and success stories in support of national statistical offices to mainstream data disaggregation in their program.
Filling gender data gaps and producing more and better disaggregated data presents a unique set of challenges that often falls on national statistical offices, particularly on the gender data focal points or champions within those offices. Meeting this demand for multiple disaggregations is not an easy task and will take ingenuity and creativity to complete. It also requires strong gender data mechanisms inside government that can effectively advocate for their activities and secure the resources to fulfill their goals. This is why skills such as strategic planning, teamwork and communication skills are increasingly recognized as equally important across statistical organisations just as technical one are.

Talking Data Feminism with Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein
2020-04-15 11:30 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | Webinar
Join Data2X for a conversation with Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein, the authors of the recently published Data Feminism.
Data Feminism offers strategies for data scientists seeking to learn how feminism can help them work toward justice, and for feminists who want to focus their efforts on the growing field of data science. But Data Feminism is about much more than gender. It is about power, about who has it and who doesn’t, and about how those differentials of power can be challenged and changed

Approaching COVID-19 Risk and Response through a Gender Lens
2020-04-09 13:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | Webinar
While the immediate impacts of COVID-19 are already apparent, some have yet to surface, and many of them will have different effects for different genders. Health systems, schools, and entire economies will continue to present gender-differential consequences for months and years to come as a result of this ongoing crisis.
By applying a gender lens to this pandemic, researchers and policy makers can better assess differential risks and target responses to ensure already-vulnerable populations don’t fall even farther behind. Join us for this online discussion with CGD experts, external researchers, practitioners, and advocates on how a gender lens helps us better understand and respond to the threat of COVID-19.

PARIS21's Response to COVID-19
2020-04-08 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
Join PARIS21 and a special convened Task Force to engage and support NSO partners across the globe, with the aim to mitigate the effect of the evolving global crisis on their daily operations, their medium-term activities and their long-term development
As COVID-19 continues to spread, National Statistical Offices (NSOs) find themselves facing unprecedented challenges. In the middle of a census year, many NSOs now struggle to conduct their usual statistical activities while maintaining the safety for their staff. At the same time, policymakers, development partners and multilateral institutions need more and better data to monitor the spread and impact of COVID-19.
As NSOs in developing countries comply with lockdowns and other mitigation policies, immediate challenges associated with remote work and limited capabilities will begin to impact national statistics in the short-, medium- and long-term. Learn more about the webinar here and register here.

Unlocking the SDGs as a shared results framework: From ambition to action
2020-04-08 08:00 - 09:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
With just ten years to go, an ambitious global effort is underway to deliver Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On 08 April, PARIS21 and the OECD are convening a webinar on “Unlocking the SDGs as a shared results framework: from ambition to action” to deep dive in the issue of SDG alignment and corresponding data production and use at the country level. This webinar is the first in a series of interactive engagements that PARIS21 will be organising in collaboration with different global, regional and national partners, throughout 2020.

Geospatial World Forum
2020-04-07 08:00 - 2020-04-09 17:00 (America/New_York) | Taets Art and Event Park, 1506 PR Zaandam, Hembrugterrein, Netherlands
Best-known for its futuristic themes, engaging content, and top-level attendees, Geospatial World Forum will be back in Amsterdam this coming 7-9 April 2020. With the theme ‘Transforming Economies in 5G Era – The Geospatial Way’, the 12th edition of the conference will continue to initiate thought-provoking discussions and advocate for technology innovation and practices in the geospatial industry.
The conference shall highlight the value of geospatial technology in digital economy and its integration with emerging technologies such as 5G, AI, Autonomous Vehicles, Big Data, Blockchain, Cloud, IoT and LiDAR in various user industries, including digital cities, construction & engineering, defense & security, global development agenda, telecommunications, and business intelligence.

Measure What Matters: Data to leave no one behind
2020-04-06 12:00 - 2020-04-08 17:00 (America/New_York) | The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Following four years of research and refinement, the Individual Deprivation Measure’s important findings will be released in April next year at their global conference, Measure What Matters: Data to leave no one behind.
It will bring together global thinkers and practitioners to showcase the value of gender sensitive data collected at the individual level, particularly data about poverty and inequality. They will also highlight global efforts to close gender data gaps and leave no one behind.

Measuring Development (VI): Data Integration and Data Fusion
2020-03-31 12:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
MeasureDev 2020 is brought to you by CEGA in partnership with the World Bank’s ​Development Impact Evaluation​ (DIME)​ group and Innovations in Big Data Analytics​. Join this virtual conference to learn how new sources of “big” data–including call detail records, satellites, and remote sensing networks–are changing the landscape of global development, while offering timely research opportunities during the COVID-19 crisis. These data sources are particularly valuable to researchers and decision-makers as they provide data at a much higher frequency and lower marginal cost than traditional surveys. While big data and survey data can each be useful on their own, hybrid approaches that enrich big data with survey data enable exciting new analytical opportunities.
In an environment where traditional forms of field-based data collection will be constrained for the foreseeable future, we look forward to highlighting non-traditional methods for collecting and analyzing data related to international development.

Africa Gender Data Network Webinar Series: Methodological Research on Approaches to Gender Data Collection
2020-03-31 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
The African Centre for Statistics (ACS) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with Data2x has initiated a project aimed at improving the production and use of gender data within National Statistics Systems through the creation of a strong and vibrant network. This Network proposes to pilot in selected African countries to begin to meet identified demand. In addition to providing some training in data production and analysis techniques, the network will also focus on identifying and strengthening best practice in communication of data with a gender dimension and promotion of data use.
This webinar will highlight the latest ICLS standards on work statistics and share key guidance in survey design and data analysis to shed light on gender issues, as well as fieldwork experience and preliminary findings. It will contribute to sustaining the momentum behind better gender data collection in support of SDGs.

Launch of New Research on Mapping Gender Data Gaps in the SDG Era
2020-03-24 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | Webinar
Please join Data2X for a webinar to learn more about our new report, Mapping Gender Data Gaps: An SDG Era Update.
Through this webinar, top researchers and practitioners will: discuss methodologies used to identify gender data gaps across six key areas (economic opportunities, education, environment, health, human security, and public participation); reflect on areas where progress has been made in closing gender data gaps; dig deeper into areas where progress has been stagnant and new gaps have emerged.
The webinar is open to all, but registration is required in advance. Register here.

CSW64 / Beijing+25
2020-03-09 08:00 - 2020-03-20 17:00 (America/New_York) | United Nations, New York, NY, 10017, United States
In 2020, the global community will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). A five-year milestone will be reached towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2020 is therefore a pivotal year for the accelerated realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, everywhere.
The sixty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women is planned to take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 9 to 20 March 2020. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session.

CSW64 Advisory
In light of the current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the UN Secretary-General has suggested to the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that Member States consider amending the format and conduct of the session. Options could include holding a scaled-down, shortened session with the participation of New York-based delegations only, or postponing the session to a later date. Member States will meet on Monday 2 March to discuss the matter and take a final decision. Additional information will be provided by CSW64 as it becomes available.

51st Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
2020-03-03 08:00 - 2020-03-06 17:00 (America/New_York) | United Nations, New York, NY, 10017, United States
The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together Chief Statisticians from member states around the world and is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities, setting statistical standards and developing concepts and methods for their implementation at national and international levels.
The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.

The website of 51st session of the UNSC.
An annotated agenda for the 51st session of the UNSC.
A list of topical “side events”.

ConVERGE: Connecting Vital Events Registration and Gender Equality
2020-02-25 08:00 - 2020-02-26 17:00 (America/New_York) | International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 150 Kent Street, Ottawa, ON, ON K1P 0B2, Canada
The Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has set out to inspire global commitment to integrating gender analysis across activities that strengthen CRVS systems. The aim of this conference, co-hosted by IDRC, Open Data Watch, and UNFPA, is to assess progress made to the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics and gender field since the first global meeting “Making the Invisible Visible: CRVS as a basis to meeting the 2030 agenda” at the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa in February 2018.
This event will evaluate present-day and future opportunities and challenges to ensure all civil and vital life events are universally registered and certified and granular vital statistics for improved development planning are generated and used, and to contribute to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

PARIS21-UNSD Conference: New Approaches to Capacity Development for Better Data
2020-01-13 08:00 - 2020-01-14 17:00 (America/New_York) | OECD Boulogne Conference Centre, 46, quai Alphonse Le Gallo, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, 92100, France
The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) and the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) organize the joint PARIS21-UNSD Conference New approaches to capacity development for better data: How to scale up innovation? which will take place on 13-14 January 2020 at the OECD La Muette Conference Center in Paris, France.
This conference introduces new approaches to capacity development in national statistical systems and highlights the need for both stronger institutions and better innovations for making the data ecosystem serve all citizens. It brings together representatives from national statistical offices, development cooperation agencies, governments, and the private sector to share their experiences of implementing new approaches towards statistical capacity development.

Moving from Gender Neutral to Gender Intelligent: Inclusive Digital Finance for Women
2019-12-10 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Google Launchpad, 543 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105, United States
Data2X, the Financial Alliance for Women and the team working on Celo are delighted to cordially invite you to Moving from Gender Neutral to Gender Intelligent: Inclusive Digital Finance for Women, the final session of the Data Driving Action for Women Dialogue Series.
Data2X’s Women’s Financial Inclusion Data (WFID) partnership is encouraging catalytic action by financial service providers (FSPs) on women’s financial inclusion through the 2019 Data Driving Action for Women Dialogue Series. The series examines how gender data can be used to target and expand the women’s market through tailored products and services, and showcases best practices on data among FSPs.

Second meeting of the Friends of the Chair Group on Economic Statistics
2019-12-02 08:00 - 2019-12-04 17:00 (America/New_York)
The 50th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission established a Friends of the Chair Group (FOCG) on Economic Statistics. The Commission requested that the Friends of the Chair Group convene meetings over the next year to discuss whether the current planned updates meet the needs of a future state of the system of economic statistics and whether gaps exist. The Commission also asked the Friends of the Chair Group to examine whether the current governance and infrastructure supporting the system of economic statistics is sufficient to meet the need for an increasingly responsive and comprehensive system of economic statistics. The Friends of the Chair Group has been asked to report back at the 51st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission.

Regional Workshop on Gender Statistics in Africa
2019-11-19 09:00 - 2019-11-23 18:00 (Africa/Accra) | Accra, Ghana
The Regional Workshop and Meeting on Improving Availability and Coordination Mechanism of Gender Statistics in Africa discusses how to improve capacity and strengthen gender data including the development of a minimal set of gender statistics in Africa. The agenda covers topics ranging from coordination of gender statistics by various levels of institutions, to steps required and a roadmap for effective coordination, to an assessment of current status and best practices in countries, to stategies for bridging gaps in gender statistics.

Big Data, Big Impact? The Future of Gender-Sensitive Data Systems
2019-11-12 09:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, 320 E 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10017, United States
With only ten years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an increased demand for inclusive, high-quality data to drive progress. This event will showcase the results of a five-year research program on big data and gender, featuring groundbreaking projects that investigated the potential of new data sources to answer critical questions about the lives of women and girls. Through a series of panel discussions, presentations, and debates, the day will bring together research, industry, and policy leaders to discuss the next steps in creating a secure, durable, and policy-relevant big data system that accurately represents and can deliver for women and girls.

ODI Summit 2019
2019-11-12 08:45 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | King’s Place, 90 York Way Kings Cross, London, N1 9AG, United Kingdom
The ODI Summit is the ODI’s flagship event covering critical issues around data and its roles and impacts across sectors – from commercial business to public services, the arts to charities. Keynotes, interactive panels, performances and demos will uncover how we can create positive impacts for organisations and societies, and make data work for everyone. The event is opened with keynotes by the ODI’s co-founders, inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee and artificial intelligence expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt, and CEO Jeni Tennison.
