The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), the regional institute of ESCAP, will organize the E-Learning Course on Introduction to System of National Accounts (2008 SNA) from 1 August to 30 September. The course, organized in collaboration with the Tokushima University, uses an internet-based self-leaning system to reach personnel working in widely different fields of official statistics with an introduction to the SNA and its basic concepts and definitions. Fifty-two participants, selected from among 149 candidates nominated from national statistical offices and related ministries in the ESCAP region, have been accepted to attend the course.

On 8 August, the Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division of ESCAP will hold a public seminar, "Lessons of the European Crisis for Regional Monetary and Financial Integration in East Asia", with Dr. Ulrich Volz, Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute and Visiting Professor at Peking University, China. Dr. Volz has edited and authored several books, including Prospect for Monetary Cooperation and Integration in East Asia, published by MIT Press. In light of the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in several euro zone countries, the public seminar is expected to provide a timely analysis on the causes of the crisis and the challenges the euro zone countries are facing in solving it. Moreover, the public seminar is expected to distill the relevant lessons for East Asia and the greater Asia-Pacific region. The public seminar, scheduled from 10.00 to 11.30 hours in Meeting Room F of the UNCC, is part of the MPDD Seminar Series which aims to generate interactive dialogue among policy makers, researchers and the wider community. Interested participants are advised to register online at: http://www.unescap.org/pdd/SeminarSeries/Ulrich-8Aug12/

The Statistical Institute of Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) in collaboration with the UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Regional Office, the University of South Pacific and the ESCAP Pacific Office, with technical support from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, is conducting the Sub-regional Training Workshop on the 2010 Population and Housing Census Data Analysis for Planners from 13 to 17 August at the University of South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. The workshop aims to enhance skills of government statisticians and officials engaged in development planning and policy-making in using population and housing census data in sub-national and sectoral planning and policymaking in the Pacific region.

The Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT) will launch an online Communities of Practice (CoP) on 16 August to provide learners and experts with a collaborative space to share knowledge and best practices on ICT for development (ICTD). The CoP and will include interactive forums on ICTD Institution Building and Cybersecurity. The CoP has been developed in support of APCICT’s recently published Knowledge Sharing Series (KSS), which aims to provide government officials with easy-to-reference, “how-to” guidelines on different aspects of ICTD. The original authors of the KSS will serve as the initial facilitators of the CoP forums, providing feedback to all submitted comments and questions.
On 28 and 29 August, APCICT will conduct an Expert Group Meeting towards strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation of APCICT’s “Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders”(Academy) programme. Experts from throughout the region will examine various dimensions of a new ‘M&E Toolkit’ for the programme which would be further refined through field application. The outcomes and lessons learned from the field application will subsequently be presented at a regional meeting of Academy partners to be held later this year.

ESCAP’s Trade and Investment Division will collaborate with Thailand’s Department of Trade Negotiations, the Ministry of Commerce, the International Institute for Trade and Development and the International Cooperation Agency in organizing a capacity-building workshop on “Free Trade Agreements Negotiations” at the Asia Hotel, Bangkok from 20 to 24 August. The five day workshop will cover topics such as the GATT/WTO framework of regional trade agreements, services trade liberalization in GATS and in ASEAN free trade agreements, non-preferential and preferential rules of origin, and preparation for preferential trade negotiations. The workshop will also include simulated negotiations for the participants consisting of government officials involved in trade negotiations from Thailand, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar. The workshop aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of the intricacies of trade negotiations and build capacity to successfully take part in them.

The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will conduct the Third Group Training Course in Production and Development of Official Statistics in support for National Development including the Achievement of MDGs, during the period 20 August to 21 December in Chiba, Japan. The course is designed for junior-level statisticians and government officials in national statistical organizations and other related government agencies. In total 25 participants from 15 countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Syria and Tanzania, will receive the SIAP training in Japan.