CARICOM to launch International Year of Statistics 2013

2013Georgetown: CARICOM will be officially launching International Year of Statistics 2013 tomorrow under the theme “Statistics in Everyday Life; Let us Educate and Appreciate.”

The event will be launched today at CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana.  The year-long celebration of Statistics is premised on the far-reaching effects of statistics on everyone, and an inherent lack of awareness by many people of how statistics improve their lives.

The over-riding goals of dedicating an entire year to statistics are to increase public awareness of the power and far-reaching impact of statistics on all aspects of society; promote and nurture statistics as a profession, especially among young people; and promote creativity and development in the sciences of probability and statistics.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat through its Regional Statistics Programme is collaborating with Member States of CARICOM to observe the International Year of Statistics 2013 under the theme “Statistics in Everyday Life; Let us Educate and Appreciate”.  By celebrating statistics, the CARICOM Secretariat aims to promote and increase public awareness through planned activities to help gain a greater appreciation for the myriad ways that statistics has helped improve the quality of life and has greatly advanced society.

While educating all stakeholders about statistics will be the general thrust of activities to observe the year, the CARICOM Secretariat’s public awareness programme will have at its core, a focus on the Region’s youth. Other areas in statistics will pivot around that core youth focus and will dovetail with activities to observe the 40th anniversary of the Caribbean Community.