Nairobi, Kenya, 2 September 2025 (ECA) – As part of efforts to fundamentally transform African National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to become agile stewards of high-quality data in a modern ecosystem, a three-day Capacity Building Workshop under the theme “Data Ethics, Governance, and Quality in a Changing Data Ecosystem for countries of the Africa region” will be held in Nairobi.
Organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the workshop is designed to strengthen the capacity NSOs across Africa to adapt to a fast-evolving data landscape.
According to the organizers, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for resilient, adaptive and high-quality statistical systems capable of delivering timely, disaggregated data to inform policy and measure progress.
Discussions will revolve around four key areas.
For instance, the evolving role of NSOs must transition from being mere data producers to becoming official data stewards for the nation. This involves governing the entire national data ecosystem, fostering partnerships, and maintaining public trust through transparency and unwavering commitment to data quality.
In addition, existing statistical laws are often outdated. There is an urgent need to update legislation to formally empower NSOs to access and integrate new data sources like big data and administrative records, while simultaneously safeguarding data privacy and upholding professional independence.
Furthermore, the integration of non-traditional data sources (e.g., mobile data, satellite imagery) presents a major challenge for quality control. NSOs must implement the UN National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) to develop new standards and agile methods for ensuring these novel sources are fit for policy use without compromising established rigor.
Moreover, there is a need to overhaul statistical production and modernize the entire data production architecture. This involves re-engineering processes based on the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) to seamlessly incorporate big data, geospatial information, and citizen-generated data. The goal is to build a more adaptable, resilient, and efficient system that aligns with global standards and better meets user needs.
“This workshop is timely. Guided by UNEP’s Global Environment Data Strategy (2025) and the United Nations Development Account Trench 14, we’re strengthening data quality, access and governance to better monitor MEAs and achieve the SDGs,” said Mr. Dany Chafari, UNEP’s Acting Head of the SDG and Environment Statistics Unit, in his opening remarks.
“New data sources -Earth observations, AI, and citizen science- must be matched by ethics and strong institutions. Our workshop advances fair, transparent, inclusive data governance to build a trusted global data ecosystem for people, planet, and prosperity,” he added
Opening the Workshop, Keping Yao, Statistician, UN Statistics Division of UNDESA, said: “NSOs face fast-evolving digital technologies, new data sources, and a complex data ecosystem. This event tackles a wide range of imperatives: relevance, resilience and coordination of NSS, modernizing statistical legislation, scope and framework of data governance for statistics and data, data quality assurance, statistical processes, and public trust and equitable access to statistics and data.”
“The workshop will review the project’s impact, share success and lessons, keep momentum, and inform the UN Statistical Commission’s Working Group on data governance, launched 24 June 2025,” he added.
Representing the ECA, Mr. André Nonguierma, Chief, Geospatial Information Management Section, said: “This project is helping African National Statistical Offices become more resilient and agile, meeting recovery needs and preparing for new social, economic, environmental and tech data demands,
“Since September 2022, this project has strengthened governance, modernized systems, and brought big data and geospatial into use, empowering, 50 countries including LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs to produce and manage data more agilely and inclusively, he stressed.
“This workshop serves as a platform to share practices, confront challenges and chart the way forward. Sustaining gains needs political support, partnerships and investment,” he concluded.
“Kenya will host the 3rd Global Data for Development Festival in Nairobi, in June 2026. A milestone for Africa’s leadership in data innovation and inclusive governance—using data and tech to improve lives,” informed Mr. Macdonald George Obudho, Director General of Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
“This will be an Africa-led festival with Kenya as host, with African nations and partners being present to lead sessions on regional data ecosystems, showcase achievements, and join panels and exhibitions. We must elevate Africa’s voice globally, he highlighted, concluding the opening session.
Throughout the event, participants will engage in interactive breakout sessions and group discussions to share experiences, challenges and practical solutions from their national contexts. The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion where key insights, recommendations and the way forward will be drawn from.
By bringing together senior statisticians and experts from across the region, UNSD, KNBS and ECA aim to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing that will help African countries modernize their statistical systems and address the complexities of an increasingly dynamic data ecosystem.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org