European Forum for Geography & Statistics Conference 2018 Welcome speech Dr. Janusz Dygaszewicz EFGS President Director of ICT Systems, Geostatistics and Census Department Statistics Poland Helsinki, Finland, 16 18 October 2018
EFGS 2018 Finding the future together The Conference is hosted by Statistics Finland (StatFI) and the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS-FI). The long-established partnership between the Finnish statistical and mapping community. A good example of collaboration between statistical and mapping institutions. A modern congress venue in the heart of Helsinki - Marina Congress Center Congratulations and an expression of my gratitude to Organizers of the Conference!
WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN FORUM FOR GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS (EFGS) Since 1998 a network of experts primarily working in European National Statistical Institutes (NSI). Mainly GIS specialists but also statisticians, researchers working in National Statistical Institutes (NSIs), employees of mapping authorities and also Eurostat. Voluntary work done by devoted experts with visionary ideas who exchange ideas among network, to provide spatial statistics for Europe. Also countries outside Europe are active in EFGS and therefore the EFGS is also a good platform to expand activity to a global forum.
SOME FACTS ABOUT EFGS The first meeting of EFGS took place in Kongsvinger, Norway, in 2006. The first news at EFGS webpage www.efgs.info was released on 6 June 2010 r. Today EFGS has national contact persons from more than 40 states and territories. EFGS is also on Facebook. There are no bindings for membership, except that national contact persons has to be employees at either national statistical institutes or national mapping or cadaster agencies.
EFGS ACTIVITIES The main goal - to promote the integration of statistical and geospatial information in public sector information and the use of GIS in NSIs. EFGS acts as a reference group for Eurostat and the project group for the GEOSTAT projects. Status of the official Observer Organization of UN-GGIM: Europe (2015). EFGS President the Member of the Executive Committee of UN-GGIM: Europe - UN-GGIM: Europe ExCom (2016). EFGS President represented EFGS during the 8th Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), NY 1-3.08.2018. Members of the EFGS active participate in many initiatives on European and global level. The EFGS website www.efgs.info, which is the reference point for geospatial statistics, is maintained, updated and developed by members of the EFGS.
EFGS ACHIEVEMENTS Creation of model for a point-based geocoding infrastructure for statistics as the base for the collection and dissemination of statistical data. (GEOSTAT 2 project). Recommendations on the improvement of the GSBPM to make it more adequate from the point of view of geospatially related statistical production processes (GEOSTAT 2 project). Preparation of the Handbook of spatial statistics to promote, develop and consolidate the use of specific statistical methods for geospatial analysis (INSEE, EFGS, Eurostat). Population distribution in 1 km² grid for Europe.
EFGS CURRENT WORK PROGRAMME Development of the best practices in the production of geostatistics in Europe. Development of partnership between NSIs and NMCAs on equal terms. A fully geocoded 2021 population and housing census. Development of the GSGF Europe - Implementation guide for the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework in Europe (GEOSTAT 3 project). Practical tests of integration of geography and statistics by calculation of some spatial SDG indicators in Europe. (GEOSTAT 3 project).
EFGS CHALLENGES Harmonization a statistical reference system with a geodetic reference system on the base of The 10 Level Model and Global Statistical Geospatial Framework. Supporting Eurostat and NSIs for a fully geocoded 2021 population and housing census. Spatial statistical indicators for Sustainable Development Goals. Works on cooperation and common approach to linking statistical data with geospatial data with UN-GGIM Europe and Eurogeographics.
EFGS CONFERENCES The annual EFGS conferences are one of the main events for raising awareness among the community. In recent years the conference has attracted an expanding attendance. The EFGS 2018 conference has more than 200 participants from 46 countries across all continents! A list of previous conferences: EFGS 2008 Bled, Slovenia EFGS 2009 The Hague, The Netherlands EFGS 2010 Tallinn, Estonia EFGS 2011 Lisbon, Portugal EFGS 2012 Prague, The Czech Republic EFGS 2013 Sofia, Bulgaria EFGS 2014 Krakow, Poland EFGS 2015 Vienna, Austria EFGS 2016 Paris, France EFGS 2017 Dublin, Ireland
1 ST EFGS CONFERENCE BLED, 2008
10 TH EFGS CONFERENCE DUBLIN, 2017
THE 2018 CONFERENCE MOTTO FINDING THE FUTURE TOGETHER
THE 2018 CONFERENCE AWARD The Lars H. Backer Prize
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare Lars Henrik Backer initiator, one of the founders and the long-standing executive director of the EFGS. The Lars H. Backer Prize in memoriam of Lars H. Backer is awarded for major contributions to the development of a geospatial foundation for official statistics or for significantly improving the relevance of geospatial statistics for evidenced-based decision making.
LARS H. BACKER PRIZE The prize was awarded to: Marja Tammilehto-Luode from Statistics Finland - the 1 st edition during the EFGS 2016 conference in Paris. Ekkehard PETRI from Eurostat & Pier-Giorgio Zaccheddu from UN GGIM Europe/The Federal German Agency for Cartography - the 2 nd edition during EFGS 2017 in Dublin. 3 rd edition the winner is It will be announced tommorow! during conference dinner.
Thank you for your attention! ENJOY THE EFGS 2018 CONFERENCE! Janusz Dygaszewicz Ph.D. Eng. EFGS President Director of ICT Systems, Geostatistics and Census Department Statistics Poland j.dygaszewicz@stat.gov.pl