Skip to main content

UN Starts Training in Beirut on Development Goals’ Monitoring

13
July
2009
Beirut

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen national capacity for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office (UNDOCO) in New York and the UNICEF’s MENA Regional Office in Amman, is `, is `organizing two workshops to train trainers (ToT) on “DevInfo Ver.6” from 13 to 24 July 2009, in Beirut.

“DevInfo” is a tool designed to support governments in monitoring the MDGs and can be adapted to include additional user-defined indicators that are linked to key national monitoring frameworks. This cost-free software offers an effective solution to address the needs of national partners to set up MDGs based information management system. The updated version number 6.0, released in 2009, offers a range of new user and administrator freindly tools and features, including a fully web-enabled version for effective dissemination and presentation of MDGs and key development indicators.

There is an urgent need for Member countries to enhance their capacities in compiling, disseminating and exchanging data and metadata. The DevInfo provides the statistical community with a tool for effective working partnership among different data producers at the national level and between line ministries, in particular, to facilitate the exchange of compiled and harmonized official statistics. DevInfo facilitates development and maintenance of a database warehouse for national development indicators used in policy making. The database provides planners with evidence in user-friendly formats and sophisticated analytical presentations.

The DevInfo workshop for the Users and Adminstrators, which opens at 9:00 am on Monday 13 July 2009 and closes on Friday 17 July 2009, will train participants from national statistical offices, ministries, and UN agencies on the newly-released version 6.0 of the “Users” and “Database Administration”. Participants will also share their experiences and good practices in customizing and implementing DevInfo at the country level.

The DevInfo ToT, which opens at 9:00 am on Monday 20 July and ends on Friday 24 July 2009, will further enhance the capacity of key professionals from national authorities and UN agencies in DevInfo technology with the aim of establishing the Arab DevInfo Training Team (ADTT).