ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)

29 Mar 2017
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
  • ADP 4th Training Workshop for National Statistical Offices (NSOs)

Producing Attractive Visual Content on SDGs: Skills and Tools

Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
15-16 March 2017 

 

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the importance of developing an inclusive monitoring and accountability framework to follow on the implementation of the SDGs at the national, regional and global levels. This emphasis assumes that countries not only are capable of reporting on their progress but that the relevant data are accessible in a manner that allows greater involvement from civil society organizations, the private sector, concerned citizens and relevant stakeholders. As part of its mandate to make quality data more accessible to a wide range of users, the Arab Development Portal (ADP) has been conducting a series of training workshops to enhance the national capacities of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in the Arab countries with the ultimate objective to improve not only the quality of official statistics in the Arab region but also widen its accessibility and dissemination such that it caters to the needs of citizens.

 

As a follow-up to previous workshops, the ADP convened the fourth training workshop for the NSOs of the Arab Countries in Amman, on 15 and 16 March 2017. The workshop offered hands-on-training on the process of producing attractive analytical and visual content on SDGs related data using user-friendly and open software and tools.

 

This meeting was attended by 21 representatives from 11 NSOs[1] in the Arab region and brought together statisticians and graphic designers with the main objective to strengthen the collaboration between them. In order to improve data-driven storytelling skills of statisticians and enhance the statistical literacy of graphic designers, participants were trained on the main functionalities offered by excel that help in the creation of dynamic charts that would be included in analytical reports. Participants were asked to work on their own national datasets addressing various SDGs-related data on education, health, and labor to produce various visual content. For example, they were introduced to the basics of developing infographics using tools that produce interactive graphs, maps and timelines.

 

Acknowledging that producing data related to the SDGs is not enough and that it should also be visualized in a simple and easy way to be communicated with the public, this training workshop was well-received by participants who all agreed on the need for a longer training program that incorporates statistical analysis. Several online free visualization tools, like Google fusion tables, Infogr.am, Knight Lab Timeline, were also showcased during the workshop.

 

In the Arab region, users have been demanding easier and quicker access to information, it becomes necessary to develop effective ways for visualizing statistics. Most participants emphasized the need for a more advanced and focused workshop on producing infographics using reports produced by their institutions and within the SDGs framework. They also requested training on other interactive tools that help create attractive content visually appealing to users in a way to improve their skills and qualifications in the field of data visualization. This workshop was one of the first steps in this direction to assess the skills and background of each NSO and its human resources, in order to design a more focused and well-targeted training programme to enhance the technical capacity of the NSOs to produce widely-distributed content on SDGs progress.   

 

For more information on ADP, check the interactive brochure on ADP in English and Arabic.

 


[1] Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kurdistan, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia. Participants from Syria, Djibouti and Sudan couldn’t join due to last-minute visa-related issues. 

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