Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Asst. Secretary General, Trade and Economic Integration
Dr. Philomen Harrison, Project Director, Regional Statistics, and other Colleagues of the Secretariat
Members of the Media
It gives me great pleasure to launch the online information dissemination facilities produced by the CARICOM Secretariat as part of the observance of Caribbean Statistics Day which is being observed (October 15th) for the first time in the Region.
The objective of Caribbean Statistics Day is to a gain greater profile for Statistics across the Caribbean Community and its crucial role across a wide spectrum of activities – from daily decision-making of individuals, businesses and students to planning, policy-making, research and sampling and experimental activities of governments, academia, scientists and other users.
The observance of a day specially devoted to Caribbean Statistics arose out of the need seen by the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) to improve the image and visibility of statistics in the Region, to develop/reinforce a culture of statistics across member countries, to inform about the processes involved in the production of statistics and of the underlying principles and to promote the use of statistics in all aspects of decision-making.
As a result, the Thirty-Third Meeting of the SCCS agreed to the observance of Caribbean Statistics Day on October 15, 2009. Countries of the Region were requested to organise activities that can help to profile for statistics on this day or during any day or period close to this date.
The observance of Caribbean Statistics Day follows closely on the heels of a High-Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics which was held on 30 July 2009 in Port-of- Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. On that occasion, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat joined with the EU and Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21), as well as other development partners, in advocating for Statistics. The High-Level Forum and the Caribbean Statistics Day therefore from a thrust towards greater advocacy for statistics that can ultimately redound to the improvement in the quality and range of statistics produced, disseminated and analysed.
The online information dissemination facilities that are being launched today are:
- the Online Regional Trade Information System (Online Tradsys);
- the Census e-Portal – with 2000 Census data for three countries included;
- the CARICOMInfo regional database system that has the capacity to disseminate a wide range of statistics and indicators and graphics and that has web and mapping capabilities;
- the Online Help-desk facility which is intended to act as a knowledge base primarily for producers of statistics but which also could inform users of statistics about methodological approaches and implications for the use of the statistics; and
- an updated CARICOM Statistics Website.
The science of statistics plays an essential role in the efficient management of economic, social, environmental and ICT issues among others. There is an essential role for statistics in decision-making, in formulation and monitoring of policies, in the assessment of development progress, in providing evidence for public debates and in analytical research on a wide range of issues. Effective and timely dissemination of high-quality statistics would enable the access by users for these stated purposes.
The online facilities that are being launched today are the first steps in the preparation of a dissemination strategy that is evolving at the regional and national levels. Future developments are planned and are being implemented even as these facilities are being launched today. Ultimately, a dissemination strategy that is grounded in the concept of a data warehouse where users can shop around for their data needs is envisaged and we have no doubt that this facility would evolve over time.
Answers to questions about the size, structure, location and other characteristics of the population would be accessible; information on trade such as our trading partners value and share of our exports/imports; indicators including those on the Millennium Development Goals would also be obtained from these facilities. In addition, manuals on statistical methodologies for the compilation of statistics and links to knowledge-based resources would be obtained.
We extend our appreciation for the support of our International Development Partners namely IDB, the EU, CIDA and UNICEF since without the resources that they have provided these outputs would not have been possible.
I also congratulate our Regional Statistics department, ably run by Dr. Philomen Harrison and her staff, for their untiring efforts in the promotion of the cause of statistics, an area so vital for our development, as well as our Information Integrated System Unit led by David Chan, in making these facilities a reality.
As we continue to develop these facilities I am confident that users will find them useful and that the data provided therein will redound to the benefit of the Caribbean Community.