One of the defining ideas of the Fifth UN World Data Forum (UNWDF 2024) was “datutopia” – “the vision of an innovative, inclusive, and enabled data ecosystem supporting sustainable development for all,” according to Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) reporting. Lively debates on the key pillars of such a system addressed how to build trust and develop standards for ethical data use and how to craft lasting and effective partnerships, among other questions. Discussions also explored “the next big steps that could be enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) to mobilize data for communities.”
The ENB summary report of the meeting notes that the World Data Forum, “once characterized by novel and sometimes confusing discussions on how National Statistical Organizations (NSOs) can open themselves up to work with diverse stakeholders and alternative data sources,” has “come of age.” Firmly established partnerships and speakers from diverse backgrounds shared success stories and ideas on how data can support the SDGs while leaving no one behind. Presentations in panel sessions, ENB writes, “focused on issues that used to be on the fringe of the discussions, such as mainstreaming citizen data and integrating geospatial data and statistics to better serve marginalized communities.” Plenary sessions explored “how to build effective, trustworthy, and holistic data ecosystems that benefit from AI while safeguarding individual and collective rights to privacy and data ownership.”
High-level plenaries and a series of panel sessions addressed each of UNWDF 2024’s four thematic areas:
- Innovation for better and more inclusive data;
- Maximizing the use and value of data for better decision making;
- Building trust, protection, and ethics in data; and
- Effective partnerships for better data and a more equitable data ecosystem.
The event also featured a large exhibition space showcasing partnerships, innovative data uses, and successful projects from Medellín, Colombia, and elsewhere in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.
In addition, the Forum provided an opportunity to continue discussions on the Global Digital Compact adopted as part of the Pact for the Future during the Summit of the Future (SoF) in September 2024. The UNWDF 2024 outcome document – the Medellín Framework for Action on Data for Sustainable Development – intends to update the Cape Town Global Action Plan, adopted at the first World Data Forum in 2017, “to reflect the dynamic and evolving discussions on data for sustainable development.”
UNWDF 2024 convened in Medellín, Colombia, from 12-15 November 2024. It brought together more than 2,000 participants from NSOs, academia, civil society, and global data partnerships. [ENB Coverage of UNWDF 2024]
