October 20, 2017 the National Institute of Statistics and the Italian Statistical Society (Sis) promoted and organized the Italian Day of Statistics.
On its seventh edition, this celebration is in continuity with the World Day of Statistics and coincides with the second European Day of Statistics, promoted by Eurostat in order to raise awareness among European citizens of the value and importance of official statistics for our society.
This year’s event is the occasion to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, the first step towards the establishment of the European Union. Istat has produced an original story of the evolution of the Union: Sixty years of Europe, looks beyond the differences between individual countries and, through facts and figures, examines overall changes, focusing on economic and social convergence, the relevance of phenomena and the effects of policies. This initiative is accompanied by the Italian version of the digital publication The Life of Women and Men in Europe, produced by Eurostat, which tells and illustrates the different lifestyles of European citizens.
Like every year, Istat territorial offices, in collaboration with the Italian Statistical Society, the National Statistical System and the universities, organized a series of meetings throughout the national territory in order to celebrate this Day and promote the development of statistical literacy in the country (agenda and materials in Italian language).
The celebration of the Italian Day of Statistics continues with various initiatives and competitions aimed at young people. In particular, the European Statistical Competition has been launched, which will be held next year and will involve upper-secondary school students. Students will have to participate in the Italian Statistical Olympics, pass this sort of national phase in order to access the European Competition. The Competition is an important opportunity for cooperation at the European level to promote a conscious use of quantitative information among young people.
Another important initiative has been organised for lower-secondary school students: Istat and Unicef Italy, in collaboration with Miur (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) and the Italian Statistical Society, will involve students from 10 classes of as many Italian cities in designing the questionnaire for a new survey on young people. They will, thus, take an active part in the implementation of tools for collecting, processing and interpreting data on intercultural issues (press release in Italian language).
