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Statistics, Knowledge and Policy:
OECD World Forum on Key Indicators

Teatro Massimo,
Palermo

“I know of no safe
depository of the
ultimate powers of the
society but the
people themselves;
and if we think them
not enlightened
enough to exercise
their control with
wholesome discretion,
the remedy is not to
take it from them, but
to inform their
discretion by
education.” ThomasJefferson.

The First World Forum on Key Indicators
The first World Forum on Key Indicators
Statistics, Knowledge and Policy” was
organised by the OECD in Palermo,
Italy
in
November
2004
(www.oecd.org/oecdworldforum).
It
was attended by more than 540 highly
qualified participants from 43 countries
and followed via Web cast by several
thousand people all over the world.
The maingoal of the Forum was to
support capacity building for all sectors
of government and society in general
in pursuit of better information to guide
decision making and operations of
major countries. To achieve this goal,
world class representation from the
social, economic, cultural and political
communities was invited. At the heart
of the forum were more than 150
invited speakers,discussants and
chairpersons. Keynote speeches were
given
by
Donald
J.
Johnston
(Secretary-General of the OECD),

David M. Walker (Comptroller General
of the United States) and Jean-Claude
Trichet (President of the European
Central Bank).
The Forum addressed key issues for the
development of modern democracies
including:
the transparency and
accountability of public policies;
people’sabilities to understand the
characteristics and the evolution of
their societies; and the role of the
media in developing fact-based
knowledge among citizens. All these
issues require a special effort by
modern societies to develop high
quality statistics, to develop a shared
knowledge about the state and the
development of the society and to
build accountable decision-making
processesbased on reliable statistical
evidence.

Progress measuring progress
By Enrico Giovannini, Chief Statistician of the OECD
Forums are quite commonplace these
days, but really useful ones are rare.
How to to think of Davos or Porto
We tend get started
Alegre, or perhaps even the OECD’s
own annual public forum. We imagine
headlinemaking topics, on climate
change,
security,
society,
Page1

telecommunications
or
business
innovation. But the OECD World Forum
in Palermo was different than most, for
it had as its billing the rather
unspectacular subject of statistics.

“An investment in
knowledge pays the
best interest”
Benjamin Franklin

Donald J. Johnston, SecretaryGeneral of the OECD introduces
keynote speaker Jean-Claude
Trichet, Present of the European
CentralBank

Curiously, the Forum was a hit.

Statistics, Knowledge and Policy: OECD World Forum on Key Indicators www.org/oecdworldforum

Don’t Miss the Forum
Website
Visit the OECD World Forum
Website to learn more the 2004
event:
•

Detailed agenda

•

Speaker biographies

•

Forum proceedings

•

Knowledge base of
background reading

•

Official sponsorswww.oecd.org/oecdworldforum

The OECD World Forum on Key
Indicators 2007 is already taking
shape. Be sure to check the
Website regularly to follow our
progress.

For nearly four days, despite sometimes
complicated technical presentations,
the great amphitheatre holding the first
OECD World Forum on “Statistics,
Knowledge and Policy” was packed.
Like in all good forums, business people
and civilsociety activists, government
officials, policymakers and experts
converged at the magnificent Teatro
Massimo to interact, network and busily
exchange arguments and ideas. The
media watched closely and, according
to our data (yes, more counting),
thousands of people from all over the
world followed the debates live from
their desktops.
Heartening stuff for us statisticians, but
why...