PSA Organizes Regional Workshop on Changing Role of Official Statistics in Qatar

Doha, September 21 (QNA) - The activities of the regional workshop "The Changing Role of Official Statistics in Qatar: Data Culture Matters" organized by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), were launched Wednesday with regional, international, and national participation. The two-day workshop will discuss the changing role of the Official Statistics System in the State of Qatar, in a bid to upgrade the National Statistical System (NSS) in line with the data revolution and related sciences and technologies; such as artificial intelligence in statistical applications, and the economy's digitalization that Qatar is experiencing. In a statement, HE President of PSA Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit indicated that the workshop aims to shed light on the importance of the national data system, and to update it. It also focuses on the role of PSA in governance processes, data stewardship, strategies preparation and the establishment of a new culture that relies on using data produced by all institutions - in its various sectors - in decision-making, in support of major developmental issues. His Excellency pointed out that data sources are numerous and diverse, and the periodicity of data provision has accelerated, which requires us to take a position on their governance, to assume responsibility for overseeing, managing and providing them to users and to employ them in formulating policies and monitoring progress. In this regard, His Excellency stressed the need for ministries, government agencies and the private sector to cooperate in building a modern system of highly credible data that provides the necessary databases for users in the public and private sectors, and for workers in the field of scientific research, innovation, market studies and other groups of society. His Excellency said that the workshop will address many topics related to the importance of data and its use in multiple development sectors, the availability of indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the future processes of collection and management of data and its components, and the use of artificial intelligence in sustainable development, as well as some national, regional and international experiences. HE President of PSA elaborated that the PSA's vision lies in building a national statistical system that provides high-quality data, pointing out the Statistical Communication Strategy that the PSA launched recently to establish a joint working mechanism between the PSA and its partners inside and outside the country. His Excellency indicated that this workshop comes in line with the recommendations of the 53rd session of the UN Statistical Commission and in response to the rapid developments surrounding the data revolution in which we live and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the statistical process. The workshop is organized in cooperation with the UN organizations operating in the State of Qatar, and in coordination with UNSD, ESCWA, Qatar Charity, and Qatar Computing Research Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Notably, this workshop will be attended by a great number of national experts working in the public and private sectors, universities, research centers and NGOs. (QNA)