SESRIC - Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries


OIC Statistical Working Group (OIC_SWG)

SWGThe OIC Statistical Working Group (OIC_SWG) emanated from one of the recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting on Statistical Capacity Building organized by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on 29 April 2007 (12 Rabi-Thani 1428H). The recommendation stipulated that the IDB was to “establish a working group, in collaboration with relevant OIC institutions, to meet regularly to harmonize statistical activities, exchange experiences and best practices, and develop common methodologies for collecting and processing data from Member States”. Similar proposal in the form of a Project for establishing OIC_SWG was made by the Director General of Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Dr. Savaş ALPAY, during his visit to IDB on 3 December 2007 (23 Dhu’l Qaida 1428H). The idea of establishing the OIC_SWG emerged due to the need to have statistical coordination among the institutions of the OIC, mainly for the following three reasons:

  • Different OIC institutions collect almost the same data from the member states. This situation leads to duplication of the efforts of these institutions and a more burden on the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of the OIC Member Countries.
  • There are no standards on the definitions of the indicators and methodologies for calculating aggregations. This leads to different figures in different OIC publications and causes confusion.
  • Same training programmes are applied to the same countries and/or regions by different OIC institutions and this leads to waste of valuable resources.

The founding institutions of the OIC_SWG, namely, OIC General Secretariat, SESRIC, IDB, Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT), Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the OIC (COMCEC) are ex officio members of the SWG. However, the membership of the OIC_SWG is open to all OIC Institutions undertaking statistical responsibilities. NSOs of the OIC Member Countries can become members of the OIC_SWG without any reservation, or participate in the OIC_SWG meetings without pre-conditional membership.

The OIC_SWG started its activities after its First Meeting, which was held at the Headquarters of IDB on 25-26 March 2008 (17-18 Rabi-I 1429H) with the participation of the OIC General Secretariat, SESRIC, IDB, Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and Islamic Centre for Development of Commerce (ICDT). The Twenty-fourth Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), held in Istanbul on 20 - 24 October 2008 (20-24 Shawwal 1429), also welcomed the establishment of the OIC_SWG.

Statistical Working Group Objectives

The objectives of the OIC SWG are;

  1. To develop a framework for the coordination of statistical activities among the OIC Institutions and the National Statistical Organizations (NSOs) of the member countries to ensure consistency in statistical practices, prevent duplications and facilitate improved interaction with the member countries.
  2. To identify the procedures and guidelines for OIC-level data collection, processing, dissemination, statistical publications and statistical capacity building activities.
Statistical Working Group Documents
  • Statistical Working Group: A Platform for Coordinating Statistical Activities Among OIC Institutions (English)
  • Glossary of the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade: Intra-OIC Trade and Index Terms (English)
Statistical Working Group Meetings

Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, visited BPS District and Provincial Offices in Bandung
Date : 15 September 2011 Venue : Bandung Indonesia

Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Atilla Karaman, Researcher, visited the BPS-Statistics Indonesia’s Cimahi District and West Java Provincial Offices in Bandung on 15 September 2011.

Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, visited STIS
Date : 14 September 2011 Venue : Jakarta Indonesia

Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Atilla Karaman, Researcher, visited Mr. Muchlis Husin, Acting Director of the Institute of Statistics (STIS), in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 September 2011. Ms. Dewita Nasution, Vice Director for Student Affairs; Dr. Dedi Walujadi, Vice Director for Administration Affairs; Mr. Rifa Rufiadi, Head of General Administration Division; Mr. Sairi Hasbullah, Director of Public Relations and Legal Affairs Department at the BPS-Statistics Indonesia; Ms. Tias Tanjung Wilis, International Relations and Cooperation Division at the BPS-Statistics Indonesia were also present during the meeting.

Preparatory Meeting for the OIC-StatCom Strategic Vision
Date : 13 September 2011 Venue : Jakarta Indonesia

BPS-Statistics Indonesia hosted a preparatory meeting to exchange views on the development of a draft outline for the Strategic Vision of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom). The participants of BPS-Statistics Indonesia were Mr. Arizal Ahnaf, Principal Inspector; Mr. Sairi Hasbullah, Director of Public Relations and Legal Affairs Department; Dr. Kecuk Suhariyanto, Director of Statistical Analysis and Development Department; Ms. Katiti Wulansari, Director of International Relations and Cooperation Division; and Ms. Tias Tanjung Wilis, International Relations and Cooperation Division. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, and Mr. Atilla Karaman, Researcher, represented the Centre thereat.

The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)

Twenty-Fifth Session of the CCSA
Date : 02 March 2015 Venue : New York-USA

The Twenty Fifth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA), a forum with 45 members that promotes inter-agency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development, was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA on 2 March 2015. Delegates from international and supranational organizations participated in the Twenty Fifth Session of the CCSA. The Centre was represented by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General, thereat.

Twenty-Fourth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)
Date : 11-12 September 2014 Venue : Rome - Italy

The Twenty-Fourth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) was held in Rome, Italy on 11-12 September 2014. Being the co-chair of the Committee, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) hosted the session.

Twenty Third Session of the CCSA
Date : 03 March 2014 Venue : New York - USA

The twenty third session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA on 3 March 2014. 41 delegates from international and supranational organizations participated in the Twenty Third Session of the CCSA. The Centre was represented by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General and Mrs. Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Senior Researcher.

20th Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)
Date : 17-19 September 2012 Venue : Frankfurt - Germany

The Twentieth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) was held in Frankfurt am Main on 17-19 September 2012. Being the co-chair of the Committee for the term 2012-2012, European Central Bank (ECB) hosted the Session where Mrs. Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, researcher, represented the Centre thereat.

The Sixteenth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)
Date : 01-03 September 2010 Venue : Vienna - Austria

The Sixteenth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) was held in Vienna from 1 to 3 September 2010. It was hosted jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The session was held at the Vienna International Centre (VIC). Dr. Sıdıka Başçı, Director of Statistics and Information Department represented SESRIC during the Sixteenth Session of the CCSA.

The Fifteenth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistics (CCSA)
Date : 22 February 2010 Venue : New York - USA

The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) held its fifteenth session in New York, USA on 22 February 2010 on the margin of the 41st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission. The 15th session of CCSA was chaired by the two co-chairs of the Committee - Mr. Pieter Everaers, Director of External Cooperation, Communication and Key Indicators of Eurostat and Mr. Henri Laurencin, Head of Development Statistics and Information Branch of Division on Globalization and Development Strategies of UNCTAD. Representatives of the member institutions of the CCSA participated to the Session. Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General and Mrs. Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, researcher, represented the SESRIC thereat.

The Fourteenth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)
Date : 09-11 September 2009 Venue : Bangkok - Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand Hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) held its fourteenth Session in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 9-11, 2009. The session was jointly chaired by the two Co-chairs of the Committee - Mr. Paul Cheung, Director of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and Mr. Pieter Everaers, Director of External Cooperation, Communication and Key Indicators of Eurostat. Representatives of the member institutions of the CCSA participated to the Session. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), represented the SESRIC during the Session.

Ninth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)
Date : 26 February 2007 Venue : New York - USA

The Ninth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) was held in New York on 26 February 2007. Dr. Sıdıka Başçı, Senior Researcher represented the Centre thereat.

SESRTCIC MEMBERSHIP IN CCSA
Date : 04-05 September 2006 Venue : Montreal - Canada

The SESRTCIC has been selected as the newest member of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA), at its eighth session, held in Montreal, Canada, on 4-5 September, 2006. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, represented the Centre thereat.