The Road to Riyadh UNWDF webinar 10.30 GMT 20th January 2026
I attended this morning's webinar.
The aim of the UN World Data Forum is to spur data innovation, nurture partnerships, mobilize high-level political and financial support for data, and build a pathway to better data for sustainable development. Since January 2017, the Forum’s community has grown from 2,000 people who attended the first and second Forum in Cape Town, South Africa <https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/capetown-2017/> and Dubai, United Arab Emirates <https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/dubai-2018/> to active list of over 20,000 interested stakeholders. This growth in interest was due to the more open and accessible Forums held virtually in 2020 <https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/virtual-2020/> and as a hybrid format in Bern, Switzerland <https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/bern-2021/> in 2021 and in Hangzhou, China <https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/hangzhou-2023/> in 2023. The Forum has since returned to being fully in-person with over 3,000 persons attending the fifth Forum held in Medellín, Colombia at the end of 2024.
The stakeholder community engaged in the Forum represents a diverse range of governments, civil society, the private sector, donor and philanthropic bodies, international and regional agencies, the geospatial community, the media, academia, and professional bodies.
Today’s webinar concentrated on multilateral collaboration, citizen engagement and agency, and citizen and statistician partnership.
Confidentiality and trust required safety, transparency, and citizen partnership. There will be a number more webinars before the forum in Riyadh Saudi Arabia from the 9th to the 12th of November. I attended the 2023 UNWDF in Hangzhou in April 2023 - photos attached (TA2.02) Inclusion of the citizen, children, families, disabled persons and primary care team in ... <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4fj-PilyZ0&list=PLBc4lThqX-WObz0EEdQkWF... and I would like to put on a one hour session “Citizen and public education, engagement, dynamic data transparency, and partnership” at the next UNWDF in Riyadh Saudi Arabia in November.
Please would you let me know before January 26th, if you or your organization would like to contribute to a session, either in person in Riyadh, or virtually.
Richard Fitton
HIFA profile: Richard Fitton is a retired family doctor - GP. Professional interests: Health literacy, patient partnership of trust and implementation of healthcare with professionals, family and public involvement in the prevention of modern lifestyle diseases, patients using access to professional records to overcome confidentiality barriers to care, patients as part of the policing of the use of their patient data Email address: richardpeterfitton7 AT gmail.com