On October 23 and 24, 2023 a workshop of the Statistical Office of Serbia on the topic „Collection and presentation of SDG indicators“, took place in Arandjelovac. The event which was dedicated to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, was attended by representatives of the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, the State Audit Institution, the Public Policy Secretariat, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the UN and GIZ.
The first day was dedicated to evaluating Serbia’s current engagement with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which measure each country’s progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda. The forum critically assessed the Republic of Serbia’s readiness to implement the global agenda and the relevance of integrating SDG indicators in national public policy planning. Notably, representatives from the Ministry of European Integration highlighted the synergies between Serbia’s objectives of EU accession and the 2030 Agenda, emphasizing their interdependence.
An important aspect of the workshop was the discussion on the importance of comprehensive statistical methodologies in monitoring Serbia’s progress towards the globally defined SDG indicators. The participants agreed that further disaggregation of statistical data is necessary in order to ensure targeted policies cater to the most vulnerable demographics, resonating with the 2030 Agenda’s key principle: Leave no one behind.
The latter half of the workshop incorporated international perspectives. The Central Statistical Office of Poland imparted insights into their experiences of formulating a tailored set of national indicators. Concurrently, the German Federal Statistical Office delineated their systematic approach towards SDG monitoring, including innovative data collection techniques.
The workshop was organized with the support of the „Public Finance Reform – 2030 Agenda“ project, co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and implemented by GIZ.