(18 October 2010) The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has joined the celebration of World Statistics Day, which, for the first time this 20 October, will raise awareness of the importance of statistics in decision-making, designing national development policies and government transparency.
World Statistics Day was established by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in June this year under the theme "Celebrating the many achievements of official statistics", acknowledging their importance for national socio-economic development and as a basic pillar of democracy.
The UN resolution asserts that it is essential for countries to count with national statistics capabilities in order to produce reliable and timely statistics and indicators that may serve as the basis for informed decisions based on the core values of service, integrity and professionalism.
"Statistics are crucial in decision-making based on facts and ECLAC is fully committed to supporting the statistics activities in the region aimed at strengthening the capabilities of national statistics systems," stated ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena.
ECLAC will celebrate the day during the "Workshop on the Governance of Statistics Systems" to be held at Commission headquarters in Santiago on 19 October with the participation of high-ranking statistics officials from several countries. It is also actively supporting the different events being prepared in the region to observe the day.
The Executive Committee of the Statistical Conference of the Americas, a subsidiary body of ECLAC that promotes the development and improvement of national statistics and their international comparability, is also encouraging the celebration of the day as a way to underscore the challenges and tasks ahead for strengthening national statistics systems.
For enquiries, please contact ECLAC's Public Information and Web Services Section. Email: dpisantiago@cepal.org; telephone: (56-2) 210-2040.