In line with the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General's Report of the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, as well as the Secretary-General's Data Strategy, this blog aims to foster a multi-disciplinary exchange of ideas on the topic of data. In this space, data experts and data champions will share their experiences and perspectives on topics such as data strategy, literacy, policy, governance, open data, privacy, ethics, AI, and more. Through this exchange of ideas, OICT ultimately hopes to contribute to a diverse and inclusive data culture.
Thank you for visiting this space. Questions related to this blog can be sent to unite@un.org.
23 November 2021
By Diana Klien, Head of Data and Analytics, Technology Division, World Food Programme
When every second means the difference between life and death for those facing famine and conflict, data can be a humanitarian agency’s best ally. That’s why data paved the way for the World Food Programme’s ambitious journey in digital transformation that started in 2017.
19 October 2021
By Sarah Telford, Lead for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Centre for Humanitarian Data
The Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) is an open platform for sharing data across crises and organizations. Launched by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in July 2014, the goal of HDX is to make humanitarian data easy to find and use for analysis. Today, the 18,000 datasets on HDX cover every active humanitarian crisis, from Afghanistan to Yemen. In 2020, HDX was accessed by over 1.3 million people and from almost every country in the world.
20 September 2021
By Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Executive Director of the Global Privacy & Security by Design Centre & Creator of the Privacy by Design Framework
In this Q&A, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, discusses why data privacy and strong data protection are critically important. Dr. Cavoukian argues that if we are to preserve free and open societies, we must preserve the privacy and security of our online communications.
13 August 2021
Steve MacFeely, Director of Data and Analytics, World Health Organization
What distinguishes revolution from evolution? What events or movements in the world of data have been sufficiently disruptive or transformational to deserve being called revolutionary? Although they might seem like abstract questions, when I hear everyone talking about a “Data Revolution”, they are the ones I find myself asking.
1 July 2021
Christina Goodness, Chief, Information Management Unit, UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations
One year and 15 minutes later, I stepped away from the nurse’s table. I waited to see if there would be any vaccine reaction. After a year of remote work and crisis response for COVID-19, I sat there and took a deep breath, listening to the clicking of keyboards as the medical staff recorded the data and murmured amongst themselves.
