I welcome the launch of the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data, which was released today at the UN World Data Forum. The plan directly reflects the mandate, priorities and services of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).
To support the demand for new data, the UIS, which is mandated to collect STI statistics to monitor the SDGs, is working with countries and statistical partners, represented by the STI Advisory Board, to produce indicators and methodology that will guide national, regional and international policymaking.
New thematic indicators to help monitor the SDGs
In his short story “Instructions to climb a ladder,” Julio Cortazar uses more than 380 words to explain an action that, you would think, requires no explanation at all. He writes, for example: “The first steps are always the most difficult, just to acquire the coordination needed.” He also notes the coincidence of the raising of “the foot” and “the foot” of the ladder.
The successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will depend in large part on our degree of success in delivering on Goal 4 on education.
UNESCO has released key findings from the Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity.
The report sheds light on the killings of journalists, acts which were condemned by the Director-General in 2014-2015, noting that 2015 was the second-deadliest year for journalists, media workers and social media producers.
UNESCO has recorded 827 killings over the past ten years. Of those deaths, 90% remain unresolved; a sign of the impunity that surrounds attacks on the press.
The Survey of Cultural Employment collects data that will be used to better understand the contribution of culture to economic and social development globally. These data will enable the UIS to produce high-quality, cross-nationally comparable data and indicators that support Sustainable Development Goal 8, the promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
This piece was first published by the Ottawa Citizen
By Munir A. Sheikh, former Chief Statistician of Canada
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