Guyana will be hosting the 39th Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) and the 24th Regional Census Coordinating Committee (RCCC) today.
In a press release, Guyana’s Chief Statistician Lennox Benjamin said the two meetings serve as a reminder of the key roles statisticians play in trying to “improve the quality of life of the peoples of the Caribbean Community.”
“It enables policies that facilitate the development of each country in the region,” Benjamin added. The chief statistician said the National Statistical Officers of the Region aim at “producing and disseminating statistics to inform public policies as well as for use by researchers and the private sector.” He also noted that there is an increase in demand for high quality statistics in a timely manner.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the SCCS. It was established in 1974; one year after the Caribbean Community came into effect with the recognition of the vital role of sound, relevant and timely statistics in guiding sustainable social and economic development of the Region. Benjamin said that all Caricom member states and Associate members participate in the SCCS.
The SCCS meeting will be held at the Princess International Hotel, Providence.
The meetings of the Standing Committee were subsequently expanded to include meetings of the RCCC which is the umbrella body for the conceptualization and implementation of the National Population and Housing Census throughout the Caribbean region.
The objective of the 24th RCCC Meeting is to monitor and evaluate the Population and Housing Census in each Caribbean country and to continue to encourage the sharing of experiences, the identification of best practices and challenges so as to provide support to countries in need.
The RCCC also aids in fulfilling the SCCS mandate with the preparation of a Regional plan to support a common census framework.
“Statistics is the core of everything we do and is crucial in the development of our territories,” Benjamin said. He also said that the continued challenge to statistics in today’s dynamic world is referred to in the theme of this year’s meeting ‘Data Revolution for sustainable Development in Caricom-Designing and operationalising a framework for statistics.’ Several items have been placed on the agenda for discussion, including sustaining the development of statistics in Caricom; advancing the process of implementing the regional statistics work programme; economy, finance and investment statistics; population, demographic, social and living condition statistics and statistics on information and communication technologies.
This is the first time that Guyana is hosting the regional meetings which have been held in St Kitts and Nevis (2013), Grenada (2012), Belize (2011), St Lucia (2009), Barbados (2008), Suriname (2007) and Trinidad and Tobago (2006).
The meetings conclude on Friday.
