The 58^th World Statistics Congress of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) was held in Dublin from 21 to 26 August 2011. ISI Congresses, held every two years, bring together statisticians from all over the world including academics, government and private sector statisticians and related experts from various institutes.

The 58^th Congress offered delegates a wide range of topics under more than 200 concurrent sessions. Among them were “Does international statistics belong to a special branch of statistics?” which was co-organized by ESCAP, and “Fundamental challenges for international official statistics”. This was the first time in the history of ISI congresses that international statistics was discussed as a distinct topic.

From Statistics Division, Haishan Fu, Rikke Munk Hansen and Arman Bidarbakht-Nia attended the Congress. Arman Bidarbakht-Nia also participated in a one-day course on “Bayesian Methods and Software for Data Analysis”, organized by the International Association for Survey Statisticians (IASS) prior to the Congress.

Partners for Statistics Development in Asia-Pacific (the Partnership) was established in December 2010 with the purpose of improving the combined impact of capacity building activities through enhanced coordination, synergy and complementarity among international agencies and donors.

At its first meeting, participants agreed to align the work of the Partnership with priorities outlined by the ESCAP Committee on Statistics and the global Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA). ADB and UNFPA were elected as Co-Chairs.

The second meeting of the Partnership was held on 9 September 2011, at Eurostat, Luxembourg, in conjunction with the 8 th session of the CCSA. The meeting was chaired by UNFPA and organized by ESCAP.

The Partners met to discuss priorities for future collaboration and agreed to the following priorities:

• Improving regional coordination of statistical training
• Developing core sets of development indicators
• Advocating for statistics development, including through the upcoming high-level regional event on civil registration and vital statistics
• Developing and implementing regional programmes for the improvement of economic, agricultural and rural statistics

The Partners also agreed to make use of the PARIS 21 administered Partners Report on Support to Statistics (PRESS) as its primary information management mechanism, and appreciated in that regard the assessment of the PRESS prepared by the ESCAP secretariat and the commitment of PARIS 21 to continue to improve PRESS, in line with the recommendations of the assessment.

The following organizations and representatives participated in the meeting: DfID, Eurostat, FAO, India (on behalf of the Bureau of the ESCAP Committee on Statistics), IMF, PARIS 21 (OECD), SESRIC, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIDO, World Bank.

For more information on the Partnership, please visit: http://www.unescap.org/stat/partnership/index.asp

The Technical Advisory Group on Social Statistics (TAG-SS) had its working/inception meeting in Bangkok on 29-30 September 2011. The objectives of the meeting were to discuss the basic elements of a regional programme on improving social statistics in Asia and the Pacific, and produce a work plan of the TAG-SS for 2011-12, including specific goals, outputs, activities and schedule.

The TAG-SS discussed issues regarding the scope, framework and domains of social statistics that all countries in the region should be able to produce by 2020. They discussed and agreed on a plan to produce a proposal on the directions of a programme of work to implement the strategy to be presented to the third session of the Committee on Statistics in 2012.

The members of the TAG-SS also shared information on current status of social statistics in their countries, including key social statistics produced, sources of data and means of data collection. Members also discussed priority areas of data gaps, issues pertaining to sub-national disaggregation, existing impediments to social statistics (e.g. lack of funding, lack of coordination among relevant agencies, weak link between statistical and policy communities), issues regarding the use of administrative data, etc.

More information about the meeting is available at: http://www.unescap.org/stat/social-stat/meeting-Sep2011/index.asp.

The Programming Mission to Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, was undertaken by Ms Haishan Fu, Director, ESCAP Statistics Division, and Ms Margarita Guerrero, Regional Advisor on Statistics during 16-19 August 2011. The purpose was to map out plans and programmes for activities related to the statistical capacity-building programme under the ESCAP-Myanmar Partnership for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), for the period covering the next two quarters.

During the mission, they had discussions with Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Planning Department (PD) and Foreign Economic Relations Department (FERD) of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development (MNPED) on:

• Prioritising training and workshop activities for September 2011– January 2012 for statistical capacity building, to be supported under the ESCAP-Myanmar Partnership for the MDGs through SIDA-funding.
• Draft concept note for a consultative process to prepare a strategy and programme of action for statistical capacity building in Myanmar

The Statistics Division Director and Regional Advisor also met with the Department of Manpower and Department of Immigration and National Registration of the Ministry of Population and Immigration (MPI) to discuss plans for the 2013 Census of Population and related capacity building priorities that may be supported by ESCAP.

The mission also included briefing meetings with the UN Resident Coordinator and with the United Nations Country Team MDG/M&E Group on the objectives and results of the programming mission and discussions on collaborative activities in the context of the UN MDG and M&E work plan on data collection and statistics, UN joint programming and the UN Strategic Framework operational plan

An in-country needs assessment was conducted in Bhutan in August 2011 by Ms Margarita Guerrero and Ms Sharita Serrao as part of the consultations being undertaken by the ESCAP Statistics Division to better understand gender statistics related capacity development needs of countries. The assessment was designed to better understand statistical processes within the National Statistical System (NSS) in the collection, processing, compilation, analysis and dissemination of gender statistics; to assess statistical infrastructure including legislation, standards, frameworks, etc. in the context of gender statistics; as well as to facilitate dialogue between national producers and users of gender statistics in the country.

During the mission, ESCAP staff met with various stakeholder groups including the National Statistics Bureau (NSB); the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) and gender focal points of the Ministries of Health, Education and Agriculture; NGOs: RENEW; Tarayana Foundation; National Women's Association of Bhutan; and some members of the United Nations Country Team. The NSB is the key provider of statistics in Bhutan. A limited amount of data are produced by other ministries as well. The NCWC is the national mechanism in Bhutan for coordinating and monitoring activities related to women and child rights. It has a cross-sectoral representation from the government, law enforcement, judiciary, the social sector, civil society, and the business sector. The Commission has 34 gender focal points, including a gender focal point from the NSB.

Though gender statistics as a whole needs improvement in Bhutan, there have been some developments in addressing gender issues and related data needs. Through a series of consultations with the national gender focal points, Bhutan has adopted the first National Action Plan for Gender covering the period 2008-2013. The national action plan serves as a useful guide for implementing strategies and activities that address gender issues.

In 2010, the Bhutan Multiple Indicator Survey (BMIS) was conducted for the first time and was designed to provide data on a wide range of issues related to the welfare of women and children. The data from the BMIS will be used to conduct more in-depth analyses on issues such as gender, education and health.

Some efforts have also been made to improve the availability of sex-disaggregated data in the country. Management information systems of the health and education ministries have been redesigned to systematically produce sex-disaggregated data. Also, vital sex-disaggregated data collected by various agencies over the years has also been compiled and presented through the Bhutan Gender Statistics 2010 publication. However, most of the existing sex-disaggregated statistics that are compiled in Bhutan are done on an ad hoc basis, primarily to meet the requirements of international reports including MDGs, CEDAW and HDR.

Discussions with various stakeholder groups indicated that there has been limited relevance and use of gender statistics in national policy formulation, programme planning and monitoring in Bhutan to date. The country lacks adequate statistical law to support the production/dissemination of gender statistics and its integration into organizational mandates and structures. At the same time, there is a need to improve understanding and capacity across all stakeholder groups on concepts such as gender and development; gender mainstreaming; gender-responsive policies; and gender issues. Understanding also needs to be enhanced on what comprises gender statistics, beyond sex-disaggregated data, together with strengthening the capacity of producers and users to identify and define what statistics are needed to support evidence-based gender-responsive policies in the country. In an effort to improve gender statistics, streamlining and improvement of overall statistical processes related to producing, using, disseminating and archiving gender statistics will also be key.

The United Nations Country Team in Bhutan has been undertaking some discussions and initiatives to support data needs in the country and to improve the use of disaggregated data. As part of developing a regional programme for the improvement of gender statistics, which the ESCAP Statistics Division is in the process of facilitating, strategic partnerships with national stakeholders and development partners at the country level will play an important role.

During its second session in December 2010, the ESCAP Committee on Statistics considered and strongly endorsed the proposal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop a regional implementation plan for the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics.

The Committee agreed that the regional implementation plan should be integrated into the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics in Asia and the Pacific. In this light, the Committee decided to establish a subgroup on Agricultural Statistics under the Steering Group for the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics.

The Committee requested the ESCAP secretariat to coordinate this effort in partnership with FAO and other relevant regional and subregional organizations. Following further consultations, FAO and ESCAP secretariat agreed to establish the Steering Group for Agricultural Statistics (henceforth referred to as “the Steering Group”) as a Subgroup of the Steering Group for the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics..

On the basis of nominations from countries and organizations, the Steering Group was formed under the guidance of the Bureau of the Committee on Statistics in August 2011. The members of the Steering Group are listed below:

The Steering Group for Agricultural Statistics will provide guidance to the development of the regional implementation plan, including identifying short-term and long-term priorities and establishing milestones; ensure the integration of the regional implementation plan with Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics in Asia and the Pacific; and advise the implementing partners (ESCAP, FAO and Asian Development Bank) on strategies for ensuring consistency between the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDSs) or similar statistical planning tools and regional implementation plan. The Steering Group will also consider and make recommendations on the most appropriate governance structure for the implementation of the regional implementation plan for the Global Strategy.

The Statistics Division of ESCAP and FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific serve as the secretariat of the Steering Group, supporting the Steering Group in carrying out its functions.

More information about the Steering Group for Agricultural Statistics can be accessed from: http://www.unescap.org/stat/agri-stat/steering-group.asp.

The persistent lack of nationally produced disaggregated statistics and indicators in ESCAP region creates problem in policy formulation and analysis. To address this issue, ESCAP is undertaking a capacity building project as part of the ESCAP/ADB/UNDP regional programme on “Supporting the Achievement of the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific” to develop the capacity of the member states to produce disaggregated statistics and indicators. Two technical proposals were requested from countries on producing MDG-related statistics disaggregated for small areas and developing master sample for household surveys. In response to the interest of the potential project partner countries that have submitted the proposals, ESCAP Statistics Division conducted an inception workshop on Concepts and Methods for Producing Disaggregated Statistics Using Census Data from 20 to 23 September 2011 in UNCC, Bangkok. The inception workshop aimed at bringing together experts from the potential project partner countries to

i.	Explore the concepts and statistical methods behind the small area estimation and master sample methodologies that the project proposes to develop and apply;
ii.	Discuss challenges, such as data availability and methodological gaps, and identify potential solutions that the project could test; and
iii.	Review and finalise country proposals based on forum discussions and conclusions.

A total of 18 participants from Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Thailand attended the workshop and discussed standard methods and new developments in the fields of small area estimation and master sample. Participants applied the methods to the real dataset through hands-on practices. They discussed, in the context of their countries, the practical challenges that they may face during implementation of the methods. Finally the participants reviewed and accordingly revised their country proposals and work plans.

Twenty producers and users of statistics met in Suva, Fiji from 25 to 29 July 2011 to discuss how to increase the use of population and housing census results by policymakers. With participants from five Pacific island countries - Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – as well as Indonesia and Timor-Leste, the workshop also served to strengthen cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.

During the workshop, national statistical offices and agencies agreed on the need to develop and implement dissemination and communication strategies to ensure policymakers and other user groups use census data effectively.

The workshop focused on better understanding the needs of data users, steps involved in conducting gender analysis, building statistical literacy, developing dissemination strategies, new methods for dissemination and how to make statistics interesting through good writing and presentation.

Jointly organized by Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the University of the South Pacific (USP), the workshop was held at the attractive USP Laucala Bay Campus in Suva. SIAP consultant Ms Jessica Gardner guided participants through a range of learning and practical exercises in the dissemination and communication of census results.

Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) jointly with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) organized the two months long group training course from 16 May to 15 July 2011 at Chiba, Japan. A mix of Level 3 and Level 4 Statisticians as defined in the Core Skill Framework introduced by SIAP attended the training.

The objective of the course was to improve the quality and efficiency of services delivered by government statistical offices through the use of ICT. In particular, the course aimed to equip the participants with appropriate information management skills to increase productivity in all operational phases of their national statistical organizations. Emphasis was placed upon production, analysis and dissemination of official statistics, and to understand the possible implications of adoption of information and communication technology.

17 participants from 11 countries, both from ESCAP region and outside, completed the course. Countries represented were Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Myanmar, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Statisticians who are already familiar with the use of computers for processing and managing data in their respective offices were selected for the course. SIAP faculty members as well as resource persons from the Japanese government conducted the training sessions. Resource persons from World Bank and SELADE were invited to deliver sessions on IHSN toolkit and REDATAM software applications, respectively.

Participants undertook a project work in which the knowledge gained from the course was applied and a report was prepared and presented. Participants also observed with interest the prefectural level ICT usage in statistical and other real-time applications including advanced technological application in the industries in Japan.

It is expected that the participants are now able to i) better understand the need and use of appropriate ICT tools and resources in the production and dissemination of official statistics, ii) carry out ICT needs analysis within department / the statistical offices, iii)use different software packages in the domain of data capture, data processing, data analysis, data management and data dissemination and associated international standards, iv) share knowledge and experience with affordable statistical software including CSPro, MS FrontPage, MS Access, STATA, DevInfo, REDATAM and IHSN toolkit, v) train local staff using improved presentation techniques.

The 2nd Group Training Course in Production and Development of Official Statistics in support of National Goals including the Achievement of MDGs (PDOS-2) will be conducted during 22 August 22 December at SIAP, Chiba, Japan. The opening ceremony took place on 22 August 2011. Mr Seiji Ohsaka, Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, was present as a special guest. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is the cooperating agency of Japanese Government to SIAP. Representatives from Japanese Foreign Ministry, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan External Trade organization and 8 embassies in Tokyo joined the ceremony to cerebrate the opening and welcome the course participants. After the opening ceremony, a luncheon was organized by Vice-Minister Ohsaka.

In total, 30 participants from 14 countries are attending the course. The countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Micronesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Tanzania, Timor-Leste and Zambia.

PDOS-2 is a four month training programme composed of three modules. Module I covers statistical methods and survey methodologies including all stages of statistical survey from planning to dissemination, sample design and statistical software. Module II covers National Accounts and economic statistics including the 2008 SNA, Business surveys, Consumer price indexes and Household Income and expenditure survey. Module III covers demographic and social statistics including population census, vital statistics, health and education statistics, Labor force and child labor statistics, and MDG indicators.

The programme also includes a project-based training where a model survey is conducted. The project involves a field study trip to a Japanese local statistical office and a visit to a respondent family of the Japanese Family Income and Expenditure Survey. These activities are designed to improve the professional knowledge and skills of participants as well as to deepen their understanding of Japanese economy, society and culture.

SIAP, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Asia-Pacific Regional Office and with support from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, conducted the regional training course/workshop on Dissemination and Use of Population and Housing Census Results with Gender Concern. The course took place at SIAP premises from 25 to 29 July 2011.

20 senior officials responsible for population and housing census and users of census data from 10 countries, namely, Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste attended the course/workshop. The participants consisted of 12 officials from NSOs and 8 from non-NSO agencies.

The aim of the course/workshop was to provide i) knowledge on principles, objectives, and media of dissemination of census data, ii) knowledge for using census data for making policies, iii) opportunity to learn by exchanging national experiences in using census results for policy and decision making as well as monitoring of MDGs, including gender mainstreaming.

The training course/workshop was conducted by Mr T. Africa, consultant and former SIAP director,,as well as an expert from the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office, Japan. The course was a good mixture of lecture sessions and practical sessions ; including work with software, group work and discussion sessions. Through group work, participants from both the users and producers side developed a rough plan for dissemination and utilization of census data to be shared with their colleagues upon returning to their respective offices. Introduction and demonstration of dissemination tools, such as DevInfo/CensusInfo, Web GIS and REDATAM online were highly appreciated.

Ms Haishan Fu, Director, ESCAP Statistics Division attended the International Forum on Monitoring National Development: Issues and Challenges, at the invitation of United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) to represent ESCAP at the forum. The forum was held in Beijing, 27-29 September 2011, and was jointly organized by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), UNSD, and World Bank.

The high-level event was attended by heads of NSOs (six at ministerial level) from 37 countries and 9 international organizations – during which the China International Statistical Training Centre (CISTC) was launched. Ms Fu participated in both the formal and informal discussions, including on the proposed framework of economic statistics, the needs for coordinating statistical training in the Asia-Pacific region, and the draft Busan Statistics Action Plan. She also had bilateral discussions with representatives of Australia, Afghanistan, China, Japan, Philippines, ADB, DFID, UNSD and World Bank.

A Working Group on Gender Statistics was established as a sub-group under the Regional Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (TWG-GEEW). The group had its first meeting on 16 September 2011. The meeting was attended by UN Women, UNDP APRC, UNICEF, FAO, IOM and ESCAP. The group is co-chaired by UN Women and the ESCAP Statistics Division.

The Working Group will provide a forum that facilitates information sharing and strengthens interagency cooperation and collaboration on common concerns among TWG-GEEW agencies relating to their work in gender statistics and brings the views and outcomes to regional discussions. The group will provide support and advice to the TWG-GEEW on strategic and technical issues and concerns relating to advocacy for utilization and improvement of gender statistics in the region. As a first step, a mapping exercise will be conducted among agencies to collate information on existing initiatives related to gender statistics and available data and resources.

The 2d Regional Intensive Course of the Asia-Pacific Capacity Development on Gender and Macroeconomic Issues was funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and took place in National Women's Education Centre, Saitama & Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan, 5 – 14 July 2011. The course aimed to provide participants with knowledge and information and tools to analyse, design and implement gender-responsive macroeconomic policies and plans.

As part of the team of 14 course lecturers/resource persons team, Ms Margarita Guerrero of ESCAP Statistics Division was responsible for topics on statistical methods particularly relating to data on time use and on the informal economy:

• Prepare outline, readings and presentation materials for specified sessions
• Deliver lectures and provide guidance to participants in the formulation of their course project work

Twenty-six women and 8 men-- graduate students, researchers, faculty, and programme staff from public and private universities and research institutions, government, United Nations bodies, NGOs and iNGOs with 17 Asia and Pacific and 2 European nationalities participated in the course.

Course lecturers/resource persons introduced and facilitated discussions and exchange of knowledge and experiences on concepts, issues, research findings and methods on gender dimensions of macroeconomic analysis and policy, including issues of globalization, fiscal policy, paid and unpaid work, informalisation of employment, trade and development. Topics on Statistical methods included tools for improving statistical measurement of paid and unpaid work, focusing on surveys on time use and informal sector and informal employment.

A special feature of the course was the Public Forum on Current Issues on Global Economy and Gender: Macroeconomic Issues and Social Construction. Ochanomizu University and UNDP organized the forum that some 200 students, academics, government staff, NGOs attended. Of particular interest were the presentations on gendered dimensions of social protection in Japan and the response to the disaster of the 3/11 earthquake and.

The course has expanded an informal network of professionals engaged in understanding and integrating the gender dimensions in macroeconomic policy research, analysis, formulation and programme design and implementation.

The Economics and Research Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized the Conference on the Development of Supply and Use Tables in Asia and the Pacific. The Conference was held in Manila, from 12 to 13 July 2011 and was organized as part of the ADB's regional technical assistance project (RETA 6483): Adopting the Supply and Use Framework Towards 1993 System of National Accounts Compliance in Selected Developing Member States.

The project aimed to help participating economies adopt the Supply and Use Table (SUT) framework toward implementing the 1993 System of National Accounts, and achieve minimum compliance and scope requirements. Through employing the SUT framework and a comprehensive assessment of data gaps, participating countries developed integrated model for generating SNA 93-based GDP which should provide them with a more reliable GDP estimates for informed policy and decision making.

The Conference was organized as a last event under this project and provided a forum for countries participating in this project to present and discuss their results, data sources, methodology and challenges faced in their SUT production. Experts from other national statistical offices and international organizations were also invited to provide an overview of the current SUT practices of developed statistical systems and related international developments. Artur Andrysiak represented ESCAP, contributing both as session chair and a discussant.

The workshop was organized by the Lao PDR Department of Statistics in Vientiane, Lao PDR from 27-28 July 2011. Mr Andres Montes of ESCAP Statistics Division participated in the workshop as key-speaker. He also discussed with the Lao PDR Government, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and Plan International the undertaking of an assessment of Lao PDR civil registration and vital statistics system. The meeting attended by senior officials of several Ministries was the first in a series of in-country workshops as part of ESCAP's efforts to support countries from the region in assessing their civil registration and vital statistics systems and develop action plans to improve these systems. This work is aligned to the recently endorsed resolution on the improvement of civil registration and vital statistics in Asia and the Pacific during ESCAP's sixty-seventh Commission session.

The calendar of all international meetings related to official statistics in Asia and the Pacific is maintained at http://www.unescap.org/stat/meet/events_Asia_Pacific.asp.

Mr Teerapong Praphotjanaporn joined Statistics Division as a Statistics Assistant in Statistical Development and Analysis Section in September 2011. Prior to this assignment, he worked for the United Nations Children's Fund on the analysis of underlying causes of child undernutrition for countries in Asia and the Pacific. He has also worked for research and consulting firms as well as for Centre for Development Policy Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Mr Teerapong holds master degrees in international peace studies from the United Nations mandated University for Peace headquartered in Costa Rica and in labour economics from Chulalongkorn University.

• Mr J.M.J (Sjef) Broekhaar, Head, Technical Cooperation & border Management Asia and Pacific Region, IOM International Organization for Migration
• Mr Michael Johnson, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
• Ms Bingxin Yu, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
• Mr Christophe Lafranc, Technical Adviser, Population and Development (Data & Census), UNFPA Thailand
• Mr Shiladitya Chatterjee, Regional Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals, Strategy & Policy Department, Asian Development Bank
• Ms Vivian S. Francisco, Strategy and Policy Officer, Strategy and Policy Department, Asian Development Bank
• Mr Uzair Suhaimi, Senior Statistician, ILO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific, Bangkok
• Ms Yoo Jin Sook, Acting Head of Information & Data, Asean-Korea Center
• Ms Hyun Myung Cho, Librarian, Asean-Korea Center