10 June 2016                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Building statistical capacity to address data demands in monitoring sustainable development in Africa: The  5^th ISIbalo Conference of African Young Statisticians, Pretoria, 13-17 2016

As South Africa marks the 40th Anniversary of the 1976 Youth Uprisings, young statisticians from across the continent will congregate in South Africa for the 5th ISIbalo Conference of African Young Statisticians to deliberate on innovations in data to measure and monitor sustainable development in Africa.  The post-2015 development agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has placed renewed pressure on national statistical offices and the statistical community in general to provide an evidence base to monitor progress on commitments made to eradicate poverty, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, provide universal access to education, and promote gender equality, to name a few.  Similarly as many African countries start to experience a decline in fertility and improved health access which leads to lower mortality, the youth population in the continent continues to experience growth that is not accompanied by relative economic growth, contributing widespread unemployment. Will Africa be able to harness the demographic dividend from its youthful population?

Hosted by Statistics South Africa, the conference aims to provide a discussion, research and training platform to interrogate these issues on Africa’s population & development. Building the capacity of young statisticians will enhance a critical mass of skill to provide data needed to advance evidence based policy-making.

The details of the conference are as follows: 

When     : Monday, 13 June 2016 

Time      : 09H00

Venue  : Saint George Hotel and Conference Centre

               58 Doornkloof, Goede Hoop Avenue, M57, Rietvleidam

RSVP:

Felicia Sithole

Tel: 012 310 2401

Cell:  076 430 0693

felicias@statssa.gov.za  

Contact: Lesedi Dibakwane

082 805 7088

lesedid@statssa.gov.za

Issued by Statistics South Africa