UN-ESCWA to Organize First Regional Training on Statistics

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will be implementing the first regional training of trainers for the project “Statistical Literacy and Capacity Building for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the Country Level” at the Radisson-SAS Hotel, Amman, Jordan, from 27 November to 3 December. The Statistical Literacy Project is a global initiative under the umbrella of the United Nations Development Group to help operationalize the Millennium Development Goals at the country level. Opening at 8:30am Monday, 27 November, the workshop will train country teams on monitoring the MDGs and the effective use of data and indicators in national policy-making to reach the MDGs and other national development targets. The MDGs, which comprise eight goals ranging from halving extreme poverty to ensuring environmental sustainability, have been agreed upon by all 191 UN member states to be reached by 2015. The goals of the project are to make data more accessible, enhance statistical capacity and literacy, and support evidence-based advocacy to reach the MDGs and other national development goals. The first two country teams to participate in the project in the Arab region are Jordan and Palestine. Participants are selected to represent a wide range of stakeholders including representatives from National Statistical Offices and government and civil society users of data. They will be trained to deliver customised workshops to roll-out the project in their respective countries to enhance statistical literacy in support of other MDGs initiatives. UN-ESCWA is the focal point for the project in the Arab Region and is leading the implementation of the project with its partners the UNDP and respective country governments.