Namibia soon to have own national geographic portal at NSA

“To initially set up mechanisms for making spatial information accessible and available, the NSA is developing a national geographic portal (geoportal) to be called Digital Namibia to fulfil the requirements of the Statistics Act of making spatial data more accessible. (…)The portal shall consists of 17 data categories or baskets such as environment, demography, education, health, society, business and economy, agriculture and aquaculture, oceanography and marine, disaster risk management, etc.”

New Era (Namibia)

Secret aid worker: we don't take data protection of vulnerable people seriously

“Until recently, I worked for an international development organisation that prides itself on being evidence-driven and using data to determine its social impact. As such, it collects reams of data on its beneficiaries, much of it personal and sensitive. This includes data on health, finances, consumption, and personally identifiable information such as birthdates and national identity numbers of poor and highly vulnerable individuals. And yet, this organisation has no data protection policies.”

The Guardian (UK)

Open data is about people, not just innovation

“We often think about open data as being technical or part of a country’s digital transformation. But really, open data is about people, their problems, and giving them the power to solve them. Unfortunately, this example of Filipino teachers unlocking government budgets using data is still very rare. Why aren’t we seeing open data used to address inequality more often? Why isn’t it resulting in greater participation from a wider spectrum of citizens?”

Eco-business

Ghana to host 2nd Africa open data conference for SDGs

“The Government of Ghana will convene a conference for the tech industry, small businesses, data journalists, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, IT solution providers, banks, telcos, insurance companies, NGOs, donor organizations, and local and national governments to connect virtually and in person, to share advances in open data and form new collaborations.”

Citifm online (Ghana)

Scientists Are Using Twitter to Battle Brazil’s Congressional Corruption

“A group of 10 data scientists has been using artificial intelligence to monitor public spending and publish suspicious activity on Twitter. (…)The cases are surprising both in their scope and their creativity. Elected officials allegedly ate 13 meals per day and consumed 30 pounds in one meal at a pay-by-weight restaurant. One spent public money on goods in the south of Brazil while simultaneously voting on a bill in Brasília, hours away.”

Vice Impact

IISD Evaluates Countries’ Selection of SDG Indicators

“he International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has developed a “data on data” tool to help track SDG indicator reporting. (…) The tool aims to allow users to explore which indicators are being used by which countries and how countries’ selected indicators align with the global indicator framework for the SDGs.”

IISD

Trump And Congress Are About To Ruin America’s $220 Billion Economic Secret Weapon

“The businesses that use this government data generate up to $220 billion a year in economic activity, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce study. But Congress and the White House don’t seem to share the same high estimation of the Census Bureau, judging by the money they are willing to spend as it gears up for two of the most challenging statistical counts on the planet ― the constitutionally mandated 2020 enumeration of every person in America, and the 2017 Economic Census.”

Huffpost

Census enters final phase

“The ongoing population census has entered its final phase and the census data is expected to be digitised latest by July 25, a senior official of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics told Dawn.The Islamabad-based Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, responsible for census operations, has received all census forms and questionnaires from its field formations.”

Dawn (Pakistan)

Govt starts work to produce data to meet 11MP policy needs

“The government is reviewing the national statistical system to bring forth the full potential of data towards effective public service delivery, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said today "We've started working on several initiatives to produce data and statistics to meet the policy needs in the 11th Malaysia Plan," he said at the launch of the latest Malaysia Economic Monitor by the World Bank today.”

New Straits Time (Malaysia)

World Bank: Better data crucial amid Malaysia's 2017 economic growth revision to 4.9%

“he World Bank, which revised Malaysia's economic growth to 4.9% for 2017 from 4.4% forecast in April this year, called for better data management that can help the country achieve high income status. The institution added that more reliable and open data access can boost growth for 2017, an outlook largely driven by strong private consumption, supported by improving labour market conditions.”

The Edge Market (Malaysia)

A Global Fund To Fight Human Trafficking’s Data

“Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission (IJM) cites 45 million slaves worldwide; President Trump cites 27 million slaves; Ivanka cites 20 million slave. They are all in the same room and yet, these are their discrepancies.

DailyCaller (US)

10 Solutions to Help Meet the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific

This publication shows how change works. It is a collection of 10 transformative development stories for development practitioners. It explains how the featured projects have yielded lasting, far-reaching results, and accelerated early progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. The interventions profiled here demonstrate how much can happen when commitment is sustained, and when governments, private sector, civil society and UNDP work together.

UNDP

Indicators on Gender, Poverty, the Environment and Progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals in African Countries

African Development Bank

The Contribution of Science in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

SDSN, Future Earth, United Nations University, DFG

High Level Open Data – OGP Conference

14 June – Brussels, Belgium

Open Data Innovation Summit

12 – 13 June, London, UK