Everything you need to know about the 2023 UN World Data Forum
Overview | Content | Registration | Social Media
The UN World Data Forum is the premier event for those interested in data and statistics related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a global platform bringing together experts, policy makers, data scientists and stakeholder from diverse fields to exchange ideas, collaborate on data-drive solutions and discuss the challenges and opportunities around data for tracking — and achieving — the SDGs.
2023 UN World Data Forum is scheduled to take place from 24–27 April in Hanzhou, China and our team here at SDGCounting have put together all the information you need to know to follow along.
About
According to its organizers, “The aim of the UN World Data Forum is to nurture partnerships, mobilize high-level political and financial support for data, and build a pathway to better data for sustainable development.” This year’s event will be held both virtually as well as in-person.
The 2023 offering is the fourth since the SDGs were adopted. The first event was in Cape Town, South Africa (2017) followed by Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2018). The 2020 event was held virtually opening up access to thousands who could not previously attend. It was followed up with a hybrid format in Bern, Switzerland in 2021 and the establishment of a regular webinar series to maintain interest and focus between Forums.
Participants come from a wide range of backgrounds including: government officials, academics, private sector actors, donors, civil society activists, national statistics officers, and experts from a variety of data-related fields.
Historically, each UN World Data Forum has produced an outcome document to capitalize on the wealth of knowledge and commitment present. These include:
- The Cape Town Global Action Plan (CTGAP)
- The Dubai Declaration
- Global Data Community’s Response to Covid-19
- Bern Data Compact for the Decade of Action on the Sustainable Development Goals
We expect a similar, pivotal document will be produced this year.
Schedule and Content
There are currently 114 sessions scheduled during this four-day event with over 400 experts in the field already committed to presenting. Event coordinators have produced a detailed program outlining the content.
A quick reminder: This event has been arranged to facilitate in-person as well as virtual participation. Therefore, all sessions are scheduled on Beijing Time (GMT+8) so a 9:00a start time will translate to 2:00a in London and 9:00p the previous day in New York.
The Forum is broadly organized around four themes:
- TA1. Innovation and partnerships for better and more inclusive data
- TA2. Maximizing the use and value of data for better decision making
- TA3. Building trust and ethics in data
- TA4. Emerging trends and partnerships to develop the data ecosystem
Sessions are also tagged with more specific areas of focus including:
- Administrative data
- Ageing
- Agriculture and food [SDG2]
- Announcement event
- Capacity development
- Census
- Children and youth [SDG4]
- Citizen generated data
- Climate and environment [SDG13]
- Data and statistical standards
- Data equity and inclusion
- Data science
- Data science, including AI and ML
- Demonstration event
- Digitalisation and modernisation
- Disability
- Dissemination platforms and visualisation
- Earth observation data
- Ethnicity
- Gender [SDG5]
- Geospatial
- Health and disease [SDG3, Covid-19]
- Household survey
- Humanitarian and disaster response
- Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
- Labour market and entrepreneurship [SDG8–9]
- Learning lab
- Legal identity and CRVS
- Life below water and on land [SDG14–15]
- Macroeconomy and finance [SDG10]
- Microdata
- Mobile phone and social media data
- Open data
- Partnerships
- Peace, crime and justice [SDG16]
- Policy analysis and decision making
- Population and migration
- Poverty and prices [SDG1]
- Regional initiatives
- Trust, data protection and governance
- Urbanisation and smart cities [SDG11]
- User engagement and data literacy
A detailed reading of the sessions on offer reveal this year’s World Data Forum will cover a wide range of topics, focusing on the importance of data for decision-making, sustainable development, trust, and inclusivity in today’s global society. Key topics include innovative data sources, methods, and technologies for informed decision-making, utilizing private sector data, data collection and analysis in healthcare applications, data for examining violence against women, and the increasing use of public-private partnerships in data collaboration. Other significant topics will encompass data ethics, the value of integrating disability data for inclusive development, addressing the data skills gap in various sectors, and exploring data stewardship practices.
Panels will examine various regional and industry-specific applications, such as climate change, gender and racial equity, engagement of parliamentarians, strengthening local data ecosystems, geospatial tools for resilient cities and communities, artificial intelligence, and enhancing data availability on agricultural land ownership. Additionally, the forum will address the impacts of misinformation, privacy concerns, and ethics surrounding data usage, as well as the broader implications of data on human rights, migration, children, and poverty.
Registration and Participation
In-person registration for the Forum has already closed, but you can register to attend the conference virtually through the Online Event Platform. This web-app will provide users with access to an up-to-date program, lists of participants, live and replayed session video and much more.
Previous World Data Forum events have utilized Whova to facilitate virtual engagement. There is an active event profile available although it is not being advertised by the organizers. We recommend you sign up for the OEP linked above as well as Whova to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Social Media
As noted above, the primary way to keep up with all the content and information coming out of the UN World Data Forum is through the official Online Event Platform. Additionally, you can follow the Forum through the following social media outlets:
Be sure to follow the Forum’s Twitter handle @UNDataForum as well as the official hashtag #UNDataForum.
Additional hashtags we expect to be used are: #betterdata, #SDGs, #datainnovation #datapartnerships
YouTube
Many sessions will be available for viewing on the UN Stats YouTube channel:
Conclusion
Our team is looking forward to bringing you the most up-to-date information possible from this event. Be sure to follow our social media and this medium account for more information.
SDGCounting is a program of StartingUpGood and tracks the progress of counting and measuring the success of the SDGs. Check us out on Twitter.
