6th International Conference on Big Data for Official Statistics

The 6th International Conference on Big Data for official statistics will take place from 31 August — 2 September 2020 as a virtual event. The Conference is organized by Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) and the United Nations Global Working Group (GWG) on Big Data for Official Statistics. The main theme of the Conference is "How can Big Data help in the COVID-19 response?" Related themes are: "How can Big Data support the monitoring of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals?" and "The need for global data collaboration on global emerging issues".

Use of new data sources and new technologies, such as AI and machine learning, can make statistical operations more cost effective and provide timelier, more frequent and more granular statistical outputs, which is especially important to support rapid assessment of the COVID-19 situation and also to provide policy-supporting indicators for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The GWG created the UN Global Platform as a collaborative environment to use new data sources, develop new methods and algorithms, and use advanced technologies for the global statistical system. Training is a must if statistical offices want to collaborate in projects on the platform. The GWG has started an ambitious training program for statistical offices based on a competency framework ("Which skills are needed") and a maturity matrix ("which skills are currently available in the statistical office?"). This training program will be rolled out gradually over the next two years.

This conference will discuss and give examples of work related to COVID-19 response, use of the UN Global Platform and the initiative for global training on Big Data. The conference hopes to demonstrate that the UN Global Platform and the corresponding global training program can have a real impact on the service delivery of national statistical institutes.

For more information on the agenda, please visit the dedicated website.