Regional Workshop on Modernization of Official Statistics in the State of Qatar

04/11/2019 - 05/11/2019

Introduction

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, consisting of 17 goals with 169 targets, as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The international community also agreed to develop 232 global indicators to be used to monitor progress towards the SDGs that all countries should undertake, in particular the development of statistical databases and the preparation of periodic national reports on developmental achievements and their presentation in international forums such as the World Summits, and the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2030 (HLPF). The international community is keen on its plan that no one is left behind.

In this context, countries, including the State of Qatar, need to make major changes to their statistical system in order to collect and disseminate consistent, reliable, high-quality and timely data and indicators. The data should be internationally comparable in order to track and compare progress towards development efforts at the regional and international level, to meet the challenges of achieving the goals, to promote and improve the quality of life of societies and to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

Hence, the State of Qatar is interested in joining the Transformative Agenda for Official Statistics formulated by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in order to modernize its statistical system and for innovation in all stages of the national statistical process; to build its national capacities in accordance with international standards enabling it to produce the data and indicators necessary to meet the needs of the said agenda; and to support the National Development Strategy 2018- 2022, sectoral policies and other decision-making centers at the national level.

Complementing the efforts exerted by the Planning and Statistics Authority (formerly the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics) to modernize the national statistical system since the launch of its modernization project in 2016, it organizes a "Regional Workshop on Modernization of Official Statistics in the State of Qatar". 2 The workshop aims to promote the exploration of new data sources using big data, to enhance traditional sources at the same time, to provide consistent and comprehensive data using artificial intelligence, data science and innovation in all aspects of the statistical process, to deepen modernization and build national capacity, and to communicate with national and international data users.

To this end, the Planning and Statistics Authority prepared a background document entitled "Modernization of Official Statistics in Support of Sustainable Development Goals in Qatar: The Road Map", as a vision to guide the transformation process and reach consensus on key areas of action to be considered.

This Workshop is to shed light on the priority aspects that should be given due attention in the modernization process in order to promote official statistics in the State. This activity comes within the framework of the transformation of official statistics project to support the Sustainable Development Agenda which is being implemented by Qatar as a lead country in this field, in cooperation with the United Nations Statistics Division, other United Nations organizations, regional, Arab and Islamic organizations, ministries and government agencies, research centers, universities and others.

Workshop Goals:

The Regional Workshop on Modernization of Official Statistics in the State of Qatar aims to move ahead with its promising project and transformation of the national statistical system, in partnership with national and international stakeholders. The workshop will focus in particular on:

  1. Exchange of information and experience regarding the modernization of official statistics systems.
  2. Identification of priority areas in the process of the modernization of the national statistical system.
  3. Introduction of modern approaches and methods that contribute to the improvement of the statistical process such as the use of data science, innovation and artificial intelligence in official statistics.

Expected Outputs of the Workshop:

  1. Increased awareness of the importance of the modernization of official statistics to support the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
  2. Effective sharing of knowledge, best practices and modern technologies in the area of official statistics.
  3. Identified new data sources that can be used in official statistics.
  4. Identified aspects of innovation in official statistics.
  5. Issuance of Doha Declaration on the Modernization of Official Statistics in the State of Qatar.

Opening Speeches

His Excellency Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit

President of Planning and Statistics Authority

Mr. Ronald Jansen

Assistant Director, United Nations Statistics Division

Mr. Sabir Said Al-Harbi

Director General, GCC-STAT



Dr. Luay Shabaneh

Regional Director for UNFPA- Arab States Office

Agenda

Agenda

Day 1: Monday, 4 November 2019

8:00 - 8:30
Registration
8:30 – 9:15
Welcome and Opening of the Workshop
  • Statement by H.E. Dr. Saleh M. Al-Nabit, President of Planning and Statistics Authority.
  • Mr. Ronald Jansen, Director of Data Innovation at UNSD
  • Mr. Sabir Said Rashid Al-Harbi, Director General of GCC- STAT
  • Dr. Luay Shabaneh - Regional Director for UNFPA- Arab States Office
9:15 – 9:30
Scope of Modernization of Official Statistics and Introducing the Workshop
Dr. Ahmad Hussein, Planning and Statistics Authority
9:30 – 11:20
Session One: Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by year 2030
Chair: Dr. Khalid Ali Al-Quradaghi on behalf of H.E. Dr. Saleh M. Al-Nabit, Planning and Statistics Authority
  • Speech by Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani - Ministry of Public Health
  • Speech by Dr. Hamda Al-Sulaiti - Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science
  • Speech by Prof. Hassan Abdel Rahim El Sayed - Social and Economic Survey Research Institute - Qatar University
  • Speech by Dr. Mohammed bin Saif Al-Kuwari - National Human Rights Committee
  • Speech by Mr. Mohammed Ali Al-Ghamdi - Qatar University
11:20- 11:45
Coffee and praying break
11:45 – 01:50
Session Two: Non-Traditional Data Sources on Official Statistics
Chair: Dr. Ingmar Weber, Qatar Computing Research Institute - HBKU
  1. Working together globally on data science and official statistics
    Mr. Ronald Jansen - UNSD
  2. Reimagining Measurement: #NextGenData
    Ms. Jennifer Colville - UNDP
  3. Data4Now
    Mr. Trevor Monroe - World Bank
  4. Oman Good Practice in Using Big Data in Official Statistics and Information
    Mr. Ahmed Musallam Salim Almufarji - National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) - Oman
Discussions
1:50 – 2:00
Closing Day 1
2:00
Lunch

Day 2: Tuesday, 5 November 2019

8:30 - 8:40
Opening day 2 and recap day 1
8:40 – 10:10
Session Three: Capacity Building and Partnership
Chair: Dr. Khalid Ali Al-Quradaghi , Planning and Statistics Authority
  1. Tools and experiences for monitoring urban SDGs (Goal 11): what have we learnt since 2015?
    Dr. Robert Peter Ndugwa - UN-Habitat Headquarters
    Dr. Ismail Lubbad - (UN-ESCWA)
  2. Capacity Development Efforts of SESRIC in the Modernization of the NSSs of OIC Countries
    Mr. Atilla Karaman - SESRIC, Ankara
  3. Statistical Capacity Building in the GCC: a milestone for modern statistical systems
    Dr. Salah N. AlMuzahmi - GCC-STAT
Discussions
10:10 – 12:00
Session Four: Innovations in Official Statistics
Chair: Mr. Abdulhadi Saleh Alshawi, Permanent Population Committee
  1. Evidence-Based Family Policies: From Data to DecisionMaking
    - Dr. Sharifa Al Emadi - Doha International Family Institute
  2. Transformations in Official Statistics to Achieve "PeopleCentred SDGs"
    Dr. Luay Shabaneh - UNFPA
  3. Prospects of innovation and Technology in Official Statistics
    - Dr. Juraj Riecan - (UN-ESCWA)
    - Dr. Ismail Lubbad - (UN-ESCWA)
  4. Artificial Intelligence for Knowledge Mining
    - Mr. Mohammad Afaneh - Microsoft
  5. Discussions
11:35 - 12:00
Coffee and praying break
12:00 – 01:10
Session Five: Methodology and Data Collection
Chair: Mr. Mohamed Saeed Almohannadi, Planning and Statistics Authority
  1. Innovating for the SDG era: the case of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys programme
    - Mr. Attila Hancioglu – UNICEF
    - Mr. Hrayr Wannis - UNICEF
  2. Innovation in the 2020 Population and Housing Census Methodology in the State of Qatar
    Mr. Nasser Saleh H Y Almohdi - Planning & Statistics Authority
  3. Latest Developments in Labour Statistics and Future of Work
    Mr. Rafael Diez de Medina - International Labour Organization (ILO)
Discussions
1:10 – 01:50
Session Six: Adoption of Doha Declaration on Modernization of Official Statistics in Support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Chair: Dr. Ahmad Hussein, Planning and Statistics Authority
Discussions and Adoption of Doha Declaration
1:50 – 2:00
Closing of the workshop
2:00
Lunch
Presentations

Presentations

Scope of Modernization of Official Statistics and Introducing the Workshop
Day One: Session One
  • Panel Discussion: Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals by year 2030 (SDGs)
  • Chair: Dr. Khalid Ali Al-Quradaghi on behalf of H.E. Dr. Saleh M. Al-Nabit, Planning and Statistics Authority
  • Participants:
    - Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani - Ministry of Public Health
    - Dr. Hamda Al-Sulaiti - Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science
    - Prof. Hassan Abdel Rahim El Sayed - Social and Economic Survey Research Institute/ Qatar University
    - Dr. Mohammed bin Saif Al-Kuwari - National Human Rights Committee
    - Mr. Mohammed Ali Al-Ghamdi - Qatar University
Day One: Session Two
Day Two: Session Three

Day Two: Session Four

Day Two: Session Five
Day Two: Session Six
  • Panel Title: Adoption of Doha Declaration on Modernization of Official Statistics in Support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
  • Chair: Dr. Ahmad Hussein, Planning and Statistics Authority
Speakers

Speakers

 HE Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al-Nabit
HE Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al-Nabit
President of Planning and Statistics Authority
 Mr. Ronald Jansen
Mr. Ronald Jansen
Assistant Director, United Nations Statistics Division
 Mr Sabir Al-Harbi
Mr Sabir Al-Harbi
Director General – GCC-Stat
 Dr. Luay Shabaneh
Dr. Luay Shabaneh
Regional Director for UNFPA- Arab States Office
 Dr Ahmad Hussein
Dr Ahmad Hussein
Statistics Expert, Planning and Statistics Authority
 Sheikh Dr Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani
Sheikh Dr Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani
Director of Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Qatar
 Dr. Hamada Hasan Al-Sulaiti
Dr. Hamada Hasan Al-Sulaiti
Secretary General of Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science - Ministry Of Education and Higher Education
 Prof. Dr. Hassan Abdel Rahim Bouhashem Al Sayed
Prof. Dr. Hassan Abdel Rahim Bouhashem Al Sayed
Director of the Social & Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI)
 Dr. Eng. Mohammed Saif A. A. Al-Kuwari
Dr. Eng. Mohammed Saif A. A. Al-Kuwari
Vice-Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee
 Mr. Mohamed Ali Al Ghamdi
Mr. Mohamed Ali Al Ghamdi
Chief Governance Officer (CGO) - Qatar Charity
 Dr. Ingmar Weber
Dr. Ingmar Weber
Research Director for Social Computing, Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI)
 Ms. Jennifer Colville
Ms. Jennifer Colville
Innovation Team Lead, Arab States, United Nations Development Program
 Mr. Trevor Monroe
Mr. Trevor Monroe
Senior Program Manager, Development Economics Data Group at the World Bank
 Mr. Ahmed Musallam Salim Almufarji
Mr. Ahmed Musallam Salim Almufarji
Application Manager, National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) - Oman
 Dr. Khalid Ali Al-Quradaghi
Dr. Khalid Ali Al-Quradaghi
Advisor of Developmental Information Systems, President’s Office - Planning & Statistics Authority
 Robert Peter Ndugwa, Msc, PhD
Robert Peter Ndugwa, Msc, PhD
Head/Chief, Data and Statistics Unit, UN-Habitat Headquarters
 Mr. Juraj Riecan
Mr. Juraj Riecan
Director of the Statistics Division at ESCWA
 Dr. Ismail Lubbad
Dr. Ismail Lubbad
Statistics and Demography Expert, ESCWA
 Dr. Atilla Karaman
Dr. Atilla Karaman
Director of the Statistics and Information Department
 Dr. Salah N. AlMuzahmi
Dr. Salah N. AlMuzahmi
Director of Research & Development Indicators department and Director of the Population and Social statistics at the Statistical Centre for the Gulf Cooperation Council
 Mr. Abdulhadi Alshawi
Mr. Abdulhadi Alshawi
Director of the Technical Office of the Permanent Population Committee at the Planning and Statistics Authority
 Dr. Sharifa Al Emadi
Dr. Sharifa Al Emadi
Executive Director - Doha International Family Institute
 Mr. Mohammad Afaneh
Mr. Mohammad Afaneh
Solution Specialist- Microsoft
 Mr. Mohamed Saeed Al-Mohannadi
Mr. Mohamed Saeed Al-Mohannadi
Director of the Statistics Department, Planning and Statistics Authority
 Mr. Attila Hancioglu
Mr. Attila Hancioglu
Chief of the Data Collection Unit, Data and Analytics Section, at UNICEF Headquarters
 Mr. Hrair Wannis
Mr. Hrair Wannis
Monitoring and Research Specialist - UNICEF Middle East
 Mr. Nasser Saleh H Y Almohdi
Mr. Nasser Saleh H Y Almohdi
Director of the Censuses, Surveys and Statistical Methods Dept, Planning and Statistics Authority
 Mr. Rafael Diez de Medina
Mr. Rafael Diez de Medina
Chief Statistician and Director of the Department of Statistics - International Labour Organization
Doha Declaration

Doha Declaration

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Final Report

Final Report

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Photo Album

Photo Album

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