Blog from June, 2020

Urgently needed and evolving statistical demands are urging national statistical systems to transform into enabled and empowered bodies who can lead development of and to deliver innovative trusted and timely products and services. Now it’s time for national statistical agencies to step out of their comfort zone to discover new paths.

Are you curious to know how official statisticians in Europe are moving forward? Here is the link to documents of 68th plenary session of the Conference of European Statisticians, virtually held on 22 - 24 June 2020. If as a member of the Data Integration Community of Practice, data integration topics interest you the most, then you can find valuable papers, mostly focusing on integration of statistical and geospatial information, under the Joint Session with UN-GGIM: Europe. One particular stand-out presentation was from the Director-General of Statistic of Estonia, Mr Mart Magi. These papers are also shared on the DI-CoP Resources page under Integrating geospatial and statistical information.

As the world grapples with the spread of COVID-19, many countries are dealing with the implications of the outbreak on preparations and implementation of the 2020 census round. The COVID-19 pandemic will threaten the successful conduct of censuses in many countries through delays, interruptions that compromise quality, or complete cancellation of census projects. The potential disruption of the 2020 census round could be particularly significant for those who have census planned for this or next year.

Many Countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region with a census planned for 2020 or 2021 representing nearly 4 billion people, more than half the world’s population. Even countries planning censuses at a later date may be impacted by the pandemic at different stages of the census cycle.

Objectives:

1. Discuss impact of COVID-19 on 2020 Census round in the region
2. Share country experiences in managing censuses planned for 2020, including both traditional and register-based censuses

Agenda:

• Opening and introduction: Gemma Van Halderen, Director, Statistics Division, ESCAP
• Overview of the 2020 Census Round in Asia and the Pacific: Christophe Lefranc, Regional Population and Development Technical Adviser, UNFPA
• Country experience 1— Singapore: Seet Chia Sing, Director of Census Office, Dept. of Statistics
• Country experience 2— Philippines: Minerva Eloisa P. Esquivias, Assistant National Statistician, PSA
• Country experience 3— Indonesia: M.Nashrul Wajdi, Statistician and Researcher, BPS
• Q and A: Moderator - Petra Nahmias Chief, Population and Social Statistics Section, ESCAP

Date: Monday, 29 June 2020

Time: 12:00 – 13:00 p.m. (Bangkok time)

Please register for the Asia-Pacific Stats Café Series Here and join at the Microsoft Teams Meeting

The current pandemic is disrupting CRVS systems all over the world, but well-functioning systems are more essential than ever. The high importance currently accorded to statistics on deaths as well as other statistics during the COVID-19 response, means that the key stakeholders in CRVS systems (civil registrars, national statistical offices and health) are under increased pressure and scrutiny. At the same time, the registration of vital events is being disrupted by lock downs and social distancing measures and civil registration authorities will need to catch up with delayed and postponed work as soon as the situation stabilizes. This webinar organised by ESCAP in collaboration with the Global CRVS Group will give civil registrars and statisticians from Asia and the Pacific a chance to share their experiences of maintaining services during this difficult period.

The Stats Café session will cover:

• Welcome: Gemma van Halderen
• Implementing the UN Legal Identity Agenda in times of COVID-19: Srdjan Mrkić
• Guidance on maintaining CRVS systems during COVID-19 and other recent initiatives: Tanja Sejersen
• The Show Must Go On – CRVS and COVID-19: Jeff Montgomery
• Vital Statistics in Georgia: experience and way forward: Shorena Tsiklauri
• Discussion and sharing of experiences from the region

Date: 22 June 2020

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 Bangkok time

Please register for the Asia-Pacific Stats Café Series Here and join at the Microsoft Teams Meeting

Beginning 2020, the Asia-Pacific Statistics Week aims to be a knowledge sharing platform in all areas of statistics, i.e. economic, demographic, social, and environmental statistics, etc. for all statisticians, practitioners, think-tanks, data generators,  data users, academe, development partners and private institutions in the region. 

The 2020 Asia-Pacific Statistics Week will be organized into two (2) plenary sessions and fifteen (15) parallel sessions. To accommodate participants from many different time zones in Asia and the Pacific, all the sessions will be held from 10.00 to 11.30 and 13.00 to 14.30 Bangkok time (GMT+7). Tentative programme and further information can be found here.

Should you be interested in participating the event, please complete online registration form by Wednesday, 10 June 2020. 

If you have any questions related to this event,  please contact Ms Eileen Capilit at eileen.capilit@un.org and Ms Wannaporn Sridama at sridamaw@un.org with copy to stat.unescap@un.org. 

The ongoing pandemic has led several national statistical offices in Asia and the Pacific to conduct rapid assessment surveys on the impact of COVID-19. Some of these surveys have taken the form of knowledge, attitude and practices assessments, while others have collected more comprehensive information on the social and/or economic impact of the pandemic.

This third session of the Stats Café, organized by ESCAP, ILO and UNICEF, is aimed at exchanging experience and lessons from conducting rapid assessment surveys, of both households and businesses, on the impact of COVID-19.

The Stats Café session will cover:

• Rapid assessment surveys of businesses
• Rapid assessment surveys of households
• Capturing impacts on employment and unpaid work
• The Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building rapid support to help countries respond

Chair: Gemma Van Halderen, Director of Statistics Division in ESCAP

Panelists:

• John Shepherd, General Manager, Industry Statistics Division, Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Hataichanok Chinauparwat, Director, Statistical Forecasting Division, National Statistical Office of Thailand
• Elisa Benes, Senior Statistician, LFS Methodology Team, ILO Department of Statistics in Geneva
• Talip Kilic, Senior Economist, World Bank Development Data Group

Q&A Moderator: Regional Adviser on Official Statistics for the 2030 Agenda at ESCAP’s Statistics Division

Date: 8 June 2020,

Time: 12:00 – 13:00 Bangkok time.

Please register for the Asia-Pacific Stats Café Series Here and join at the Microsoft Teams Meeting