Session 1: Big Data: What is it and how can it Contribute to Sustainable Development of the webinar series on Data for Sustainable Development, developed and delivered in partnership with the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development, as a part of its SD Talks Special Series initiative, successfully kicked off with a record 400 registered participants and 128 attendees! If you were not able to attend you can still watch it now:

This first session was delivered by our director and co-founder Emmanuel Letouzé. It opened with an overview of the historical context and significance of the question and the description of a framework conceptualizing Big Data as an ecosystem rather than just large datasets; it then discussed its potential for monitoring progress across Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including through examples of research projects that have used data analytics for studying poverty, literacy, criminality, and mobility; it ended by covering key hurdles and requirements beyond measurement considerations, such as fostering data literacy, direct control over data and local data ecosystems, for effectively leveraging and shaping Big Data in support of sustainable development. The Keynote presentation is available here.

Stay tuned for the next webinar!