Caribbean Statistics day (CSD) & World Statistics Day (WSD)

Caribbean Statistics Day has been celebrated every year since 2009 on or around October 15 within the CARICOM. From 2010, World Statistics Day is celebrated every 5 years on October 20 all over the world. The ABS celebrated these 2 days from 2009 through various activities. Because of the importance of these two days for the statistical office, it has been decided from the 1st celebration that the ABS staff not only wear their CSD polo shirts on CSD or WSD, but also on every Friday.

The purpose of Caribbean Statistics Day and World Statistics Day is to make the total population “Statistics minded” and to reward statisticians for the work they do. Statistics are indispensable and are used by companies, the government, students and citizens to, for example, test developments, to substantiate decisions or to gather knowledge.

An overview of the activities organized by the ABS regarding the celebration of CSD & WSD:

Thema 2009: “Better Statistics, Better Management, Better Development Outcomes”.
CSD was celebrated on Thursday 15 October 2009 by a mini statistics exhibition in the TOWER auditorium.

Thema 2010: “Celebrating the Many Achievements of Official Statistics”.
CSD / WSD was celebrated on October 20, 2010. In cooperation with the UN organizations in Suriname, a two-day statistics fair was organized in Sana Budaya. The turnout was surprising and the media was well represented. In addition, information from ABS was provided to various VOJ / VOS schools in the Nickerie district.

Thema 2011:“Recognizing the Essential Role of Statistics in Development”.
CSD was celebrated on Friday 14 October 2011 by providing information about the importance of statistics to the Surinamese population. This in the form of an information booth at Spanhoek (Center) and distribution of folders, booklets and posters to various VOJ and VOS schools in Paramaribo. In addition, there was a pleasant meeting with the ABS staff.

Thema 2012: “Working Together to Improve Statistics in the Twenty-first Century and Beyond”.
CSD was celebrated on Monday 15 October 2012 with a statistical competition where a laptop could be won. This competition was placed in the various newspapers. CSD was also highlighted on various TV and radio stations. On Sunday, October 14, 2012, a fun day was organized for the ABS staff in ABS East Region.

Thema 2013: “Statistics in Everyday Life; Let us Educate and Appreciate”.
CSD was celebrated on Tuesday October 14 2013 with an open day at ABS, distribution of Census promotional material at VOS schools and the University, promotion via the media about CSD, and a get together of the ABS staff. This year was also International Year of Statistics (IYOS)

Thema 2014: “Data Revolution for Sustainable Development of CARICOM — Designing and Operationalizing a Framework for Statistics in the Post-2015 Development Agenda”.
The SurInfo and SurinameCensusInfo databases were launched on Wednesday 15 October 2014. In addition, there was also a mini statistics fair at Hotel Torarica. All this was made possible by the support of UNICEF.

Thema 2015: “Better Data, Better Lives”.
CSD was celebrated on Thursday 15 October 2015 by providing an ABS guide, a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) poster and an SDG guide to the VOJ and VOS schools and the University. A cozy get-together with the ABS staff was not lacking. The second WSD celebration was on October 20, 2015. Together with the UN organizations, a one-day statistics fair was held in the Lalla Rookh building. The launch of the SurinameEnvironmentInfo database has also taken place.

Thema 2016: “Improving the Lives of People – Advancing the Action Plan for Statistics in CARICOM”.
On Friday, October 14, 2016, the CSD celebration was very briefly with a treat to the ABS staff due to a lack of financial means.

Thema 2017: “Improving the Lives of People – Advancing the Action Plan for Statistics in CARICOM”.
On Friday, October 13 2017, CSD was celebrated very small, just like the year before, due to a lack of financial resources.

Thema 2018: “Building Resilience of the Caribbean Community”.
CSD was celebrated on Monday, October 15, 2018 providing posters to a number of schools and socializing with the ABS staff.