Governments and Leaders Join Data for Sustainable Development Goals Movement
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data announces new country partners, board members and 'Data for Sustainable Development Goals' Ambassadors.
NEW YORK, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As leaders gather in New York this week for the UN's High-Level Political Forum, the annual follow-up forum for the Sustainable Development Goals, data is an increasingly recognized priority on the road to 2030.
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is embracing the strengthened focus on data, more cooperation and partnerships, and new engagements with existing data champions.
Data for Sustainable Development Goals Ambassadors
The Global Partnership is welcoming its inaugural 'Data for Sustainable Development Goals' Ambassadors. These goodwill ambassadors will advocate for the importance of leveraging data and technology to help governments, companies and citizens make more informed decisions that lead to better lives.
The first Data for Sustainable Development Goals Ambassador is Professor George Gyan-Baffour, Minister for Planning, Ghana. Professor Gyan-Baffour has been a strong advocate for data to drive Agenda 2030, signing Ghana up to the Inclusive Data Charter and developing an action plan that will be used to gather more detailed information to help the most marginalized groups in society. The second ambassador is Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC-CEPAL).
The Ambassadorship was announced by Global Partnership Board member, His Excellency the Vice President of Ghana Mahamudu Bawumia at a press event in Accra, Ghana. Speaking at the event, Dr. Claire Melamed, CEO of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data said: "Partnerships are all about people. These dynamic leaders, cutting-edge technical experts and our new Data for SDGs Ambassadors will continue to power a data revolution for sustainable development."
New countries, board members and technical advisers announced
The Governments of Ecuador, Paraguay and Togo were the latest country partners to join the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, joining: Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Country partners work with the Global Partnership Secretariat to strengthen their capacity across the spectrum from foundational data such as civil registration systems to cutting edge techniques like leveraging satellite data to track deforestation, urbanization and impacts of changing climates.
"Ecuador and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data share the same vision: a world where the opportunities of the data revolution are available for all humanity, as a force for improving life for all the people, everywhere," said Roberto Castillo Añazco, Acting Executive Director of the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Ecuador.
United Nations Population Fund's Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem and Julio Alfonso Santaella Castell, President of Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) have joined the Board of the Global Partnership. Incoming members of the Technical Advisory Group include experts on civil society data, mobile data, Earth observation data and evaluation techniques.
These commitments to data for development will help accelerate progress toward the SDGs as we begin the 10-year countdown to 2030.
NOTES TO EDITORS
New 'Data for the Sustainable Development Goals' Ambassadorship
- Professor George Gyan-Baffour, Minister of Planning, Ghana
- Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Ambassadors will have an advisory function to the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data's Secretariat, Board and Technical Advisory Group. The Ambassadors will also advocate for the production and use of better data, at international events and convenings, in the media and in written contributions. The duration of the Data4SDGs Ambassador incumbency will be two years, renewable.
New government country partners
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Togo
More information on participating countries can be found here: http://www.data4sdgs.org/country-listing
New Board Members
- Julio Alfonso Santaella Castell, President, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), México
- Natalia Kanem, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund
A full list of Board members can be found here: http://www.data4sdgs.org/Board
New Technical Advisory Group Members
- Cristoph Aubrecht, Senior Geospatial Strategist, European Space Agency Representative to the World Bank
- Pedro Antonio de Alarcon, Head of Big Data for Social Good, LUCA-Telefónica
- Al Kags, Founder, Open Institute
- Deepa Karthykeyan, Co-founder and Director, Athena Infonomics
- Elizabeth Omoluabi, Executive Director, Centre for Research, Evaluation Resources and Development, Nigeria
- Erik Wetter, Assistant Professor, Stockholm School of Economics & Co-founder and Chairman, Flowminder
A full list of Technical Advisory Group members can be found here: http://www.data4sdgs.org/TAG
About the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is a global network including governments, businesses, and civil society organizations working around the world to harness the data revolution for sustainable development. Since it was created in 2015, the Global Partnership has elevated data issues at a political level, launched a multi-million-dollar Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development funding initiative, and supported the advancement of country-led Data Roadmaps for Sustainable Development. Learn more at http://www.data4sdgs.org.
SOURCE Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
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