More than 300 decision makers and experts from UAE and around the world will come together for Abu Dhabi’s first Statistical Conference 2013 set to be held on May 12 and 13 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

The event, which is being organised by The Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (Scad) aims to highlight the importance of the quality administrative data records that Scad produces for government authorities, semi-government departments and private companies within Abu Dhabi.

It also aims to emphasise the significance of providing information that will support the efforts of decision makers in transforming the UAE economy into a knowledge-based one, a statement from Scad said. International best practices in the field of quality statistical data will be reviewed throughout the conference as benchmark standards.

Scad has confirmed 18 speakers from 13 countries, representing the most important national statistics centers in the world. They will present working papers during the conference sessions that demonstrate the cumulative experiences gained by these centers, which is a valuable opportunity to exchange successful case studies in the field of electronic statistics, quality data, quality data management, preservation and dissemination.

Local and international statistics experts contributing to the conference panel discussions include Dr Stephen Penneck from Britain, president of the International Association for Official Statistics; Dr Enrico Giovannini, president of the National Statistics Institute in Italy; Irena Krizman, director general of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia; Nasser Ahmed Al Suwaidi, chairman of the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi; and Saber bin Said Al Harbi, director general of the Economic Statistics in Oman.  

Butti Ahmed Mohamed bin Butti Al Qubaisi, director general of Scad, said: “The conference plays a direct and effective role in contributing to the goals and aspirations of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, a vision that involves economic plans which depend heavily on high quality statistical data across various economic sectors. The availability of quality statistical data will be a key factor in the successful implementation of these plans.”

“We are confident that the outcomes from this conference will strongly contribute to shaping future cooperation and data exchange between the statistics centers around the world.”

“In order to maximise the benefits of this event, we have organised an additional exhibition on the sidelines of the conference, which will attract a large number of Scad partners such as the Center of Corporate Information Technology and statistical and academic authorities. This exhibition will provide these companies and partners with an excellent platform to showcase their latest products in this sector,” Al Qubaisi said.

The two-day conference will feature a number of important sessions and panel discussions. Day one will address four main topics:: reinforcing the understanding of the need to have high quality statistics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; the importance of quality in administrative data used to support the decision-making process; the development of statistical work for a better future; and the importance of official statistics in supporting the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision of 2030.

The first panel discussion will focus on electronic statistics and the shift in the statistical processes, while the second panel discussion will highlight the challenges facing data quality for statistics users.

 The conference is in line with Scad’s plan which aims to join various statistics centers and institutions around the world to mark 2013 as “The Year of Statistics”. This year, 1,850 statistics authorities from 122 countries are participating in an international awareness campaign that delves into the important role played by statistics and highlights the contributions by statistical bodies in finding solutions to the biggest global challenges faced by our economies and societies.

The campaign aims to increase the number of young people who choose the field of statistics as their specialty, especially among high school and college students, the statement said.

Since its inception, SCAD has worked on gathering information for various departments and institutions from the government and non-government organisations, with the aim of developing the Emirate further.

The information gathered by the centre includes details on business environments, results from the economic sector, workforce, health sector, agricultural sector, population, and demographics. It plays a vital role in supporting efforts aimed to develop the data collection processes in Abu Dhabi which meet high-quality international standards. – TradeArabia News Service