ESCAP, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will convene an expert group meeting to assess national-level progress in the Asia-Pacific region towards the implementation of the 2002 Action Plan on Population and Poverty adopted by the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, from 3 to 5 February, in Bangkok. The Plan of Action prioritizes action in 12 areas – including population, sustainable development and poverty, reproductive rights and health, HIV/AIDS and partnerships – in order to effectively address population and poverty issues. The meeting will review successes and challenges in implementing the recommendations of the Plan of Action which is central to regional progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

ESCAP’s Committee on Statistics will hold its first session under the revised conference structure, from 4 to 6 February, at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok. The meeting will be attended by the heads of National Statistical Offices and senior representatives of regional and international organizations working in the field of statistics. The inaugural session will determine the strategic direction and priorities of the Committee on Statistics, as well as how it could work effectively to advance the developmental needs of member states in Asia and the Pacific. The meeting will also focus on topical issues that include statistical development in the Asia and the Pacific, regional technical cooperation, gender statistics, economic statistics, population estimates and measuring progress.

The effect of rising food prices and the financial crisis on vulnerable groups, particularly in Asian developing countries, will be a key topic at a session of the Technical Committee of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery (APCAEM), a subsidiary body of ESCAP, scheduled to take place from 10 to 11 February, in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The session will also focus on the improvements of agricultural productivity through agricultural science and technology. Subsequently, the fourth session of APCAEM’s Governing Council will take place, from 4 to 5 December, at which the Governing Council is expected to review the Centre’s 2008 activities and its 2009 work plan.

Youth experts will gather in Bangkok to discuss ways to scale-up the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) in the Asia-Pacific, at a meeting organized by ESCAP’s Social Development Division, from 12 to 13 February. WPAY covers 15 youth development priority areas. The implementation of four key areas in the context of globalization will be assessed during the meeting. The four areas are: youth employment generation, the use of ICT in education, youth health and well-being, and juvenile justice. The meeting will adopt a set of recommendations for youth-related policy and actions aimed at scaling-up the implementation of the WPAY in the region.

ESCAP’s Statistics Division will hold a Training Workshop on Cognitive and Field Testing in the Context of Disability Statistics, from 16 to 20 February, in Bangkok. The workshop will bring together senior statisticians from participant countries in the UN Development Account project “Improvement of Disability Measurement and Statistics in Support of the Biwako Millennium Framework (BMF) and Regional Census Programme.” The focus will be on qualitative research and analysis skills related to cognitive testing, and the conduct and analysis of field survey test results. The workshop is part of the Statistics Division’s efforts to strengthen national statistical capacities for disability data collection, with the aim of supporting regional efforts to achieve BMF targets.

The Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT), a subsidiary body of ESCAP, will hold its Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Programme, a national training of trainers workshop, from 17 to 19 February in Tagaytay City, Philippines. The workshop, co-organized with the Career Executive Service Board (CESB) and the Development Academy of the Philippines, targets 40 Chief Information Officers of central government agencies who will serve as trainers to replicate the workshop in other parts of the Philippines. An official ceremony to sign an agreement between APCICT and CESB to roll-out the Academy Programme in the Philippines will be held during the opening session of the workshop. In preparation for the inaugural workshop in the Philippines, a pilot national Academy workshop was held during October 2008 with 30 senior government officials from the Philippines to solicit feedback on the course content and delivery methodology. Subsequently, authors of the Academy training modules and local resource people from CESB have customized the Academy modules and added local case studies to meet training needs and increase the relevancy of the course.