The National Statistics Office (NSO), the primary statistical arm of the government, is spearheading the celebration of the 2013 International Year of Statistics (Statistics2013) in the country.

Statistics2013 is a worldwide campaign that seeks to promote the importance of statistics to the scientific community, business and government data users, the media, policymakers, employers, secondary school and college students and the general public.

On February 6, a Launching Forum for Statistics2013 will be hosted by the NSO at the Century Park Hotel, Manila. The activity aims to gather heads and representatives of the major statistical agencies in the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) which include the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), NSO, Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC), the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) of the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) of the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Department of Economic Statistics of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Launching Forum will highlight two of the major nationwide undertaking that will be undertaken by the NSO this year – the 2012 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) and the 2012 Census of Philippine Business and Industries. Other statistical agencies will underscore the socio-economic indicators they generate and the promotional activities they intend to undertake during the worldwide celebration.

Around the world, nearly 1600 organizations in 122 countries are supporting the campaign and are planning seminars, media outreach and other promotional activities throughout the year.

Statistics2013 was founded by the American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, International Biometric Society, International Statistical Institute (and the Bernoulli Society), and Royal Statistical Society. Its primary aims are to increase public awareness of the power and impact of statistics on all aspects of society; nurture statistics as a profession, especially among young people; and promote creativity and development in the sciences of probability and statistics.

(Sgd) CARMELITA N. ERICTA
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