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The project on "Measuring the Progress of Societies"- is hosted by the OECD and run in collaboration with other international and regional partners - it seeks to become the world wide reference point for those who wish to measure, or assess, the progress of their societies.
The project has been built around a series of World Forums and encompasses associated work within and outside of the OECD. Read more. The last World Forum was held on 27-30 June 2007 in Istanbul and focused on "Measuring and Fostering the Progress of Societies".
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The OECD will be closed from May 8-12 2008 (Victory Day and Pentecost).
Newsletter on Measuring the Progress of Societies – March 2008, is now available online at: Newsletter- Issue 1 - March 2008 (PDF format)
In this issue: Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative; On the Right Track Canadian Index of Wellbeing; Measuring and Fostering the Progress of African Societies; Conference on Gross National Happiness. Highlights; Knowledge Base and Wikigender.
Eurobarometer Survey about Europeans Knowledge on Economic Indicators
In 2007 a survey was coordinated by the Directorate General Communication of European Commission with the assistance of the OECD. The survey was conducted between 10th of April and 15th of May 2007 under the framework of the Standard Eurobarometer 67. For the first time a study about the perception and the evaluation of economic indicators by European citizens has been implemented. It is focused on three main indicators: growth rate, unemployment and inflation rate. An interesting outcome of the analysis is the strong correlation between the European citizens’ trust in official statistics and the fact that political decision are made on the basis of statistical information. Read the report: “Special Eurobarometer: Europeans Knowledge on Economical Indicators"(PDF Format)
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Wikigender
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Wikigender http://www.wikigender.org is a project initiated by the OECD Development Centre to facilitate the exchange and improve the knowledge about gender-related issues around the world. A special focus of this project is to collect empirical evidence and to identify adequate statistics and measurement tools of gender equality. In this respect, Wikigender serves as a pilot project for the OECD proposed Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies.
In particular, Wikigender aims to highlight the importance of social institutions such as norms, traditions and cultural practices that impact on gender equality. Examples of such measures are presented in the OECD Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base.
Wikigender, was officially launched on 7 March 2008 on the occasion of International Women's Day. The site is now open and freely accessible to the public. Wikigender invites everybody to actively use and participate in this new online resource.
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The Istanbul Declaration
At the end of the Istanbul World Forum , the OECD, the European Commission, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the United Nations, the UN Development Programme and the World Bank affirmed in a declaration their commitment to measuring and fostering the progress of societies in all dimensions, with the ultimate goal of improving policy making, democracy and citizens’ wellbeing.
Read the Istanbul Declaration:
An increasing number of organisations and individuals have signed the Istanbul declaration after the Forum. Read more about organisations and people who signed the Istanbul declaration.
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The Istanbul World Forum - Highlights
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Why is the Global Project so important?
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See why the head of UNDP, the OECD’s Secretary General and the Chief Economist of the World Bank are among those who think the time has come to get serious about Measuring the Progress of Societies. Watch the 12 minute movie we made in Istanbul. The movie is available online in different video formats .
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Coming Events
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Training course on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy: Understanding Societal Change - September 16th -19th 2008, Siena (Italy)
This Training course will focus on the importance of statistics for democracy and democratic decision-making; measures of progress that go “beyond GDP”; tools to transform statistics into knowledge; evidence, civic engagement and policy making; the role of National Statistical Offices in the 21st Century.
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International Seminar on Innovative Approaches to turning Statistics into Knowledge, Stockholm, 26-27 May, 2008
This Seminar jointly organised by Statistics Sweden and the OECD aims to contribute to the development of tools to help people transform statistics into knowledge and decisions. Held in the context of the OECD Global Project on “Measuring the Progress of Societies”, it should contribute to one of the goals quoted in the Istanbul Declaration: "produce a broader, shared, public understanding of changing conditions, while highlighting areas of significant change or inadequate knowledge".
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Call for Papers: Social Indicators at the 1st ISA Forum of Sociology, Barcelona, 5-8 September, 2008
The 'Working Group Social Indicators' within the 'International Sociological Association' (ISA) calls for papers for its sessions at the "First ISA Forum of Sociology: Sociological Research and Public Debate". Sessions of the 'Working Group Social Indicators' are addressing the theme "Are things getting better, or worse, and why? The role of social indicators to inform public policy."
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Knowledge Center
Past Events
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Beyond GDP: Measuring progress, true wealth, and the well-being of nations - International Conference, 19-20 November 2007
The European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF hosted a high-level conference in Brussels on 19-20 November 2007. Quotes, interesting facts and press releases are now available on the web, as well as the presentation materials.
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Second World Forum: Istanbul 2007 - "Measuring and Fostering the Progress of Societies"
The second World Forum on "Statistics, Knowledge and Policy" was held in Istanbul (Turkey), 27-30 June 2007. Attended by 1200 people from about 130 countries, the Istanbul World Forum has given a unique opportunity for in-depth discussions about the measurement of progress. |
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First international exhibition on innovative tools to transform information into knowledge
This exhibition has taken place during the OECD World Forum and gave the opportunity to organisations active in indicators and measures of progress to showcase their latest work, demonstrate innovative tools to disseminate data and promote new indicators. |
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Regional Conferences
Regional Conferences in 2006 and 2007 played an important role in informing the discussion at the World Forum in Istanbul. Regional "pre-conferences" are being held in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. |
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Preparatory Workshop - International Conference “Is happiness measurable and what do those measures mean for policy?”.
This international conference took place April 2 and 3 at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. |
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Preparatory Workshop - "Dynamic Graphics for presenting Statistical Indicators".
The OECD and the Italian National Statistical Institute (ISTAT) organised a seminar on "Dynamic Graphics for Presenting Statistical Indicators" on 5-6 March 2007 in Rome, Italy. |
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Preparatory Workshop - "Measuring Well-Being and Societal Progress".
The OECD and the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning (CRELL) hosted a workshop on "Measuring Well-Being and Societal Progress" from 19-21 June 2006 at the University Cattolica in Milan. |
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Previous World Forum: Palermo 2004, "Key indicators to inform decision making"
The first world forum on "Statistics, Knowledge and Policy" was held in¨Palermo (Italy), 10-13 November 2004. Some 540 experts participated from forty-three countries and thousand of people followed the event through live Web-cast. |
This page can be accessed using the following url:
http://www.oecd.org/oecdworldforum
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OECD Factbook 2008: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics
some of the most comprehensive information on the origin and characteristics of the immigrant populations in OECD countries
