UN World Data Forum 2018 Launched In Dubai

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, and H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended on Monday the opening of the second United Nations Data Forum 2018 in Dubai.

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Oct, 2018) H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, and H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended on Monday the opening of the second United Nations Data Forum 2018 in Dubai.

The three-day forum will bring together more than 2,500 data experts, high-ranking government officials and prominent policy makers from 120 countries around the world.

The UN World Data Forum 2018 is hosted by the UAE Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), with the support of the Statistics Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The forum will be co-organised by a number of partners, including governments, the World Bank, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), PARIS21 (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the United Nations Foundation, as well as a number of civil society organisations and entities.

The United Nations selected the UAE to host the second edition of the UN World Data Forum 2018 after competing with developed countries, including Switzerland, Finland, Mexico and other countries.

With 80 interactive discussion panels and more than 400 global speakers, the second edition of the United Nations Data Forum 2018 will discuss harnessing the data revolution for sustainable development and improving the use of data and statistics to achieve change towards a better future for human communities in line with the SDGs 2030. The forum will also feature presentations on interactive visual data and discussion panels, which enable the participants to interact, exchange ideas and views, and enhance data-use capabilities to meet the UN’s SDGs 2030.

Held under the guidance of the United Nations, the event brings together leading data producers and users to launch innovative initiatives that contribute to improving the quality of data on health, migration, refugees, education, income, environment, human rights, and other fields of sustainable development.

The United Nations estimates that 90 percent of the world's data has been developed over the past two years, and that the volume of data will increase by 40% annually. The expansion of new data sources, resulting mainly from mobile, digital and space technologies, gives ample opportunities for innovative solutions to be integrated with formal data mechanisms and structures.