Communiqué de presse

Swiss Days of Official Statistics 2017 Ready for the future? Official statistics rises to the challenge

Neuchâtel, 14.11.2017 (FSO) - On 20 and 21 November 2017 it will be time once again for the annual session of the Swiss statistics scene: the Swiss Days of Official Statistics. This year the event will be held in the former Carthusian monastery, Ittingen Charterhouse, in the canton of Thurgau. The stimulating programme includes workshops, presentations and discussion groups around the theme “Ready for the future? Official statistics rises to the challenge."

Central to this year's edition will be discussions about changes taking place in the world of statistics both today and in the future. What are the opportunities and risks of ever increasing digitisation? What are the possibilities and dangers arising from new ways of collecting and connecting data (big data)? How can official statistics keep up with the rapidly changing needs of subscribers to statistical findings?

The Swiss Statistics Meeting will begin on Monday at 10.30 a.m. with a welcome speech from the President of the Swiss Statistical Society (SSS) Marcel Baumgartner. This will be followed by plenaries and presentations interspersed with workshops based on this year's theme. In one such workshop, the new Data Innovation Strategy of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) will be presented. The remaining eleven workshops will concentrate on current challenges, new trends and data collection methods. They range from the development of new apps to the real-time processing of election results and from interactive infographics to questions on health statistics or sustainable development.

Representatives from the media are very welcome. The two-day event is a perfect opportunity to gather information about official statistics in Switzerland and to speak with specialists on a wide range of subjects.

The event will be brought to a close on Tuesday from 2.45 to 4pm with a presentation from ifolor CEO Filip Schwarz on the subject of Digital Transformation followed by an open discussion. The evolution of ifolor, the photo developer, is a good example of how to successfully move into the digital age. The sector's switch from analogue to digital photography forced the company to completely reinvent itself. Many others failed but in 2000 ifolor was the first photographic laboratory in Switzerland to offer its customers an online photo developing service.

Accompanying Filip Schwarz in the discussion group will be: Big data specialist Diego Kuonen, National Councillor from Thurgau Edith Graf-Litscher, FSO Director General George-Simon Ulrich and the former Director of the German Federal Statistical Office Destatis and of the EU Statistical Office Eurostat, Walter J. Radermacher. The debate will be moderated by Hanspeter Trütsch, political editor for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRF.

Over the two-day event we are expecting some 200 participants from local, cantonal and federal statistical offices, from universities as well as from trade and industry. Students and other interested persons are very welcome.

The organisers of the Swiss Days of Official Statistics 2017 - the FSO, the SSS, the Swiss Conference of regional statistical office (CORSTAT) and the canton of Thurgau's Statistical Service - are looking forward to seeing you there.

You will find further information in the PDF below.