SESRTCIC Statistical Activities: Improving Cooperation With NSOs of the OIC Member Countries

 The Centre is a subsidiary organ of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) started its activities in Ankara on 1 June  The basic mandate drawn up for SESRTCIC is threefold:  To collate, process and disseminate socio-economic statistics and information on and for the utilisation of the member countries,  To study and evaluate the economic and social developments in the member countries to help generate proposals that will initiate and enhance co-operation among them, and  To organise training programmes in selected fields geared to the needs of the member countries as well as to the general objectives of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC)

SESRTCIC Statistical Activities Collecting, Processing and Disseminating Statistics and Information A System of Computerised Databases The Centre’s Website ( Statistical Publications (Hard Copies and Electronic Format) A Specialised Library Training Programmes for Statistical Capacity Building in NSOs of the Member Countries Other Activities SESRTCIC Regular Meetings with NSOs of the OIC Member Countries

Collecting, Processing and Disseminating Statistics and Information The Centre serves as a major socio-economic information bank on and for the OIC member countries. The Centre regularly collects, processes and disseminates statistics and information from both the national and international sources of the member countries. Thus, the Centre provides the necessary statistical data and background information that would make the member countries better informed of each other’s potentials and needs and, thus, facilitates their elaboration of cooperation projects and integration schemes.

A System of Computerised Databases The Centre maintains a system of computarised databases that support time series data collection at regular intervals from both the national and international statistical sources of the member countries. The Centre is currently developing a Statistical Data Collection and Dissemination Software System. This is a new searchable and dynamic system whereby up-to-date statistical data on over 200 indicators will be electronically collected from the 57 member countries. This system will enable the users of the Centre’s website to performe graphics or raw data- base cross-searching on the Centre’s statistical databases.

The Centre’s Website ( The Centre is extensively engaged in electronic publishing to ensure a more expanding circulation of its statistical data and information through its website. The centre’s website has, in recent years, developed into a wealthy and dependable source of information on the 57 member countries of the OIC and is being visited by an increasing number of users the world around. The Centre has very recently designed a new version of its website that will facilitate the development of the new Statistical Data Collection and Dissemination Software System. The new version of the Centre’s website will also allow enriching and frequently updating the Centre’s statistical directories such as those of universities, statistical experts, research institutions, etc. Roughly 1000 users daily visit our website and after the developemnt of the Statistical Data Collection and Dissemination Software System, this figure is expected to be more than triple in less than two years.

Statistical Publications (Hard Copies and Electronic Format)  The rate of dissemination of our statistical publications have been greatly increased due to the successive improvements we made on the technical capacities and design features of our website. Statistical Databases: our statistical databases have been enriched in terms of both the coverage and content. New thematic and sectoral databases have been developed on fields such as environment, education, women, etc., and the number of indicators and variables have also been increased. Statistical Directories: such as those of universities, statistical experts, environmental experts, research institutions, etc. Statistical Yearbook of the OIC Member Countries. Basic Facts and Figures on the OIC Member Countries. Information Series on the OIC Countries: such as agriculture, tourism, education, etc.

A Specialised Library The Centre’s library functions as a depository library for the World bank since 1987 and houses more than 5100 of its publications. The Centre has recently authorised a free access to the World Bank databases and efforts are also being made to designate our library as a depository library for the IMF with a free access to its databases. In an effort to further extend its statistical and information services, the Centre has recently launched its electronic library to provide all remote researchers the possibility of browsing its rich collection of socio-economic reference material and statistical publications.

Training Programme for Statistical Capacity Building in NSOs of the Member Countries The Centre has recently initiated a training programme for Statistical Capacity Building in NSOs of the member countries. The programme aims at exploring the possibilities of matching the needs and capacities of the NSOs in the member countries and investigating the most practical ways of sharing their existing capacities. In so doing, the Centre regularly circulates a questionnaire on the needs and capacities of the NSOs of the member countries and based on the assessment of the responses of the member countries, the Centre arranges for short-term training courses on various areas of statistics.

Training Programme for Statistical Capacity Building in NSOs of the Member Countries  The Areas of Statistics Specified in the Questionnaire on the Needs and Capacities of NSOs General Statistics National Accounts Balance of Payments Statistics International Trade Statistics Monetary and Financial Statistics Government Finance Statistics Real Sector Statistics Price Statistics Agriculture Statistics Education and Training Statistics Industry and Services Statistics Labor Statistics Environmental Statistics Health Statistics Science, Technology and Patent Statistics Population and Demography Web-based Data Compilation Techniques Statistical Data Analysis Census/Surveys and Sampling Techniques

Training Programme for Statistical Capacity Building in NSOs of the Member Countries  The Results So Far Obtained 20 countries out of 57 member countries of OIC responded to the questionnaire. The response rate for this survey is 35 %. The most urgent 7 areas are determined as follows: General Statistics National Accounts Labor Statistics Population and Demography Web-based Data Compilation Techniques Statistical Data Analysis Census/Surveys and Sampling Techniques

Training Programme for Statistical Capacity Building in NSOs of the Member Countries

Other Activities  The Centre has been welcomed as a new member of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) at its 8th Session held in Montreal, Canada, in September The CCSA agreed to set up a Task Team to explore how to improve the coordination of technical cooperation programs in statistics at the sub-regional level, and the World Bank was asked to take the lead in getting the Task Team established. The Centre is a member of this Task Team.  The centre applied for the World Bank’s e-learning course in order to equip its staff with the methodologies and the techniques of how to build new projects for developing the capacities of the NSOs of the OIC member countries. E-learning course is a World Bank project where staff who are able to develop and manage statistical capacity building programmes and projects and who can provide guidance and support to the managers of statistical services are educated.

Other Activities (Continued)  The Centre has become part of the Africa Statistics Training Task Team of PARIS21. The Team was organised by PARIS21 at at the 5 th Session of the Committee on Development of Information (CODI-V), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 29 April-4 May Two Senior Researchers of the Centre are now members in the Team.  The 9 th Islamic Countries Conference on Statistical Sciences 2007 (ICCS-IX). The Conference will be organised in December 2007 jointly by the Centre, the Malaysian Institute of Statistics and the Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences. On the sidelines of the Conferenc, the Centre will organise a special session on “Improving Statistical Capacity Building in the OIC Member Countries”.  News from the NSOs of the Member Countries. The Centre is currently preparing a new section in its website to disseminate the NSOs short reports on basic indicators of their countries.

SESRTCIC Regular Meetings with NSOs of the OIC Member Countries  Since its inception in 1978, the Centre has organised four meetings with the Heads of NSOs of the member countries (HNSOs) as follows: The 1 st HNS0 in Ankara in November 1979, with the participation of 15 NSOs. The 2 nd HNSO in Istanbul in October 1982, with the participation of 12 NSOs. The 3 rd HNSO in Ankara in June 1998, with the participation of 18 NSOs. The 4 th HNSO in Lahore in February 2004, with the participation of only 6 NSOs. Unfortunately, the above-mentioned previous general meetings with the Heads of the NSOs seem to be unsatisfactory in terms of the rate of participation.

SESRTCIC Regional Meetings with NSOs of the OIC Member Countries  In an attempt to enhance its regular meetings with the Heads of NSOs of the member countries, the Centre has organised the following two regional meetings during this year as special sessions on the sidelines of different regional conferences: The Centre organized on 17 th January 2007 a special meeting for the representatives of the SNOs of African member countries on the sidelines of the 2007 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development, which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, on January Representatives of 16 SNOs attended the meeting. The Centre organized a special session on “Statistical Capacity Building” on 4 th May 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as part of the 5 th UNECA Session on Development of Information in Africa. Representatives of 19 NSOs attended the meeting.

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