The Fifth Edition of the United Nations World Data Forum will be held in Medellin, Colombia, between November 12 and 15, 2024!
This event, recognized worldwide as a crucial space for the exchange of experiences in the field of statistics and data, aims to spur innovation, foster strategic partnerships, mobilize political and financial support, and build a path towards more robust data for sustainable development.
From its inception in Cape Town in 2017 to the last edition in Hangzhou in 2023, the Forum has left a significant footprint on the global statistical community. The outcome documents of previous editions of the Forum, such as the Cape Town Global Action Plan, have marked important milestones, establishing priority lines and funding mechanisms to strengthen the role of data for sustainable development.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop the Forum; it adopted a virtual format to bring together stakeholders and issue a statement on the importance of data in crisis situations. In 2021, in a hybrid format in Bern, Switzerland, the Bern Data Compact for the Decade of Action of the SDGs was generated, focusing on the value and use of data.
The fourth edition in Hangzhou in April 2023 was a crucial milestone, resulting in the Hangzhou Declaration and the path for the review of the CTGAP.
Colombia is preparing to host this crucial event in 2024.
The World Data Forum 2024 will be held at Plaza Mayor Convention and Exhibition Center, Medellin. Approximately 2,000 people from various countries and sectors, including national statistical offices, the private sector, academia, civil society organizations and international organizations are expected to participate.
During the three days of the event, there will be parallel and plenary sessions proposed by the participants, carefully selected to address the key thematic areas guiding this edition. The aim is to stimulate multi-stakeholder, local and multidimensional participation, capturing the experiences and expectations of each sector interested in the data.
The thematic areas, which in 2022 were reduced from six to four, will be the framework for the call for proposals, determining the expected content of each presentation. Below, we invite you to learn about the thematic areas proposed for this edition:
1. Innovation and partnerships for better and more inclusive data 2:
This area reflects efforts to create an enabling environment for the integration and use of different data sources through innovation and synergy among data producers to respond to user needs, and to ensure that data and statistics are fully inclusive and address issues relevant to all population groups.
2. Maximize the use and value of data to make better decisions:
This area covers efforts to improve literacy so that people can use data and statistics to improve their lives, ensure that decision makers are held accountable, discern fact from misinformation, and understand the world around them.
3. Building trust and ethics in data:
This area encompasses efforts to apply ethical and professional principles to all data holdings and the data value chain within the data ecosystem.
4. New trends and partnerships to develop the data ecosystem:
This area accounts for efforts to harness the data revolution and contribute to the implementation of the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Data Development to build more resilient national data ecosystems that can cope with crises during conflicts and emergencies.
At the end of the Forum, a document with a global scope will be generated, which will include specific commitments from each sector, consolidating efforts to strengthen the statistical and data community.
In addition, this edition plans to release an updated and revised version of the CTGAP, reflecting recent changes in the statistical community and the challenges it faces.
We look forward to your participation in this crucial event to shape the future of statistics and data worldwide!
Contact us: foromundialdatos@dane.gov.co
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