National
Statistical Offices’ (NSOs) Focal Points Meeting
Arab
Development Portal (ADP)
www.arabdevelopmentportal.com
Le Bristol Hotel
Beirut,
Lebanon
14 November 2017
Background
The ADP was launched
on 25 April 2016 as a bilingual data warehouse and knowledge platform that
offers timely and high quality data and knowledge on key development topics in
the Arab region based on national and international sources. The ADP hosts an
interactive data browsing and extraction facility equipped with visualization
tools to make data more digestible and user-friendly. It also hosts a rich pool
of resources such as publications and blog entries, along with the latest news
and events. It is the only platform that offers a centralized database of
indicators extracted from the countries’ main national data producers and
providers. The ADP is firmly positioning itself as the main reference for
researchers, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, academics, students, civil society
workers, journalists and bloggers, active citizens who are concerned with the
development trajectory their country or the region is taking.
The ADP supports open
data, access to information, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and
data-based journalism. It champions innovation, sustainability, and social
entrepreneurship across the region. Its interactive, multi-source and bilingual
database offers more than 3,600 indicators.The ADP is in the process of expanding its
database to enhance its thematic coverage of the SDGs. In October 2017, ADP
team will launch the SDGs tracking tool. This tool offers a multi-level
monitoring mechanism of progress on SDGs based on the global indicators but
also on national indicators and targets identified in national development plans
of selected Arab countries.
Workshop Objectives
In the past three years, the ADP has managed to develop an
institutionalized relationship with the National Statistical Offices of the Arab
countries and most NSOs have appointed focal points to directly coordinate with
the ADP team. In addition, representatives from different Arab NSOs participated
in the workshops organized by ADP.
The first
consultation meeting with the NSOs was held in November 2014 and was attended
by representatives from eight NSOs. In this meeting, participants discussed the
situation of data portals in their respective countries and briefed the ADP
team on the on-going efforts to improve on their visibility and relationship
with users. In April 2016, representatives
of eight NSOsjoined the ADP Launching Ceremony and the
Regional Workshop on the SDGs. Among other topics, this workshop focused on open
data and data dissemination, with a specific focus on the role of NSOs in
publishing official statistics.
The ADP team also
convened a third workshop with the NSOs on database management and data
dissemination strategies and tools in November 2016 and February 2017. These
meetings were attended by representatives from 17 NSOs, the GCC stat
and experts from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil and Sweden. During
these meetings, NSOs representatives presented their dissemination strategies
and the different databases and website technologies adopted by their
institutions. Participants emphasized the need to cater users’ expectations by allowing
them easy access to their data.
Most recently, the
ADP convened the fourth NSOs training workshop in March 2017 which offered
hands-on-training on the process of producing attractive analytical and visual
content on SDGs related data using user-friendly and open software and tools.
In
follow-up to this continuous effort, the ADP is organizing the first annual meeting
bringing together all focal points to introduce them to the new ADP database,
system and SDGs tracking tool, discuss needs and data sharing, assess ADP
workshops and e-learning courses, get updated on SDGs reporting and discuss
means to improve on the current mechanism of coordination.
Profile
of participants: This meeting will be attended by the focal points assigned by each
National Statistical Office in the Arab Countries.
Agenda
|
09:00 – 09:30
|
Welcome
Coffee and Registration
|
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09:30 – 10:00
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Welcoming
Session
§
Welcoming Remarks
§
Introduction: Objectives of this meeting and
update on previous workshops held with the NSOs
____________________________________________________________________________________________
-Farah
Choucair, ADP Project Manager and Technical Specialist, UNDP-RBAS
-Yasmine Koujou, ADP Research
Officer and National Statistical Offices’ Coordinator, UNDP-RBAS
Group Photo
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10:00 – 11:00
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Session I: Briefing
on the Arab Development Portal (ADP)
§
ADP website
§
ADP new database
§
SDGs tracking tool
____________________________________________________________________________________________
-Diana Assaf, ADP Web
Editor, UNDP-RBAS
-Yasser Najem, ADP
Senior Statistician, UNDP-RBAS
-Yasmine Koujou, ADP Research
Officer and National Statistical Offices’ Coordinator, UNDP-RBAS
|
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11:00 – 11:30
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Coffee Break
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11:30 – 12:30
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Session II.1:
Training on ADP’s new system for the NSOs
The ADP has succeeded in
building strong relationships with the NSOs of the Arab countries and most
NSOs have appointed Focal Points to directly coordinate with the ADP team in
different areas including data sharing. During this session, participants
will be introduced to the new ADP system. This system was developed in a way
that allow each NSO to update the national data of their countries directly
on the portal.
|
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12:30 – 13:30
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Session II.2:
Working Session
Participants will be guided to
try the new system.
|
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13:30 – 14:30
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Lunch Break
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14:30 – 16:00
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Session III: Country
Updates on SDGs reporting
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16:00 – 17:00
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Session IV:
Working Relationship with the NSOs
§
Data sharing
§
Technical assessments needs
§
Means
to improve the current mechanism of coordination
§
Suggestions of new topics and trainings
____________________________________________________________________________________________
-Farah
Choucair, ADP Project Manager and Technical Specialist, UNDP-RBAS
-Yasmine Koujou, ADP Research
Officer and National Statistical Offices’ Coordinator, UNDP-RBAS
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Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Morocco, Oman, and Tunisia.
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco,
Palestine, Sudan, Yemen