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Registrations for UN Datathon 2024 open until October 11
October 07, 2024 02h00 PM | Last Updated: October 11, 2024 11h03 AM
Registrations for the United Nations Datathon 2024 , one of the most expected data science events in the global statistics community, are open until October 11. The competition is open to teams of three to five people from around the world, who are over 18 years old and have basic knowledge of data science. This year’s theme is “Solutions for sustainable tourism in urban areas based on data.” At least two participants from each team must be present at the 5th UN World Data Forum in Medellín, Colombia.
O UN Datathon 2024 is sponsored by the United Nations Statistics Division, in partnership with the UN Regional Hub for Big Data in Brazil; the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE); the National Statistics Office - DANE Colombia; the Ruta N Corporation - Medellín; the Medellín City Hall; the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); the Global Partnership for Data for Sustainable Development (GPSDD); Amazon Web Services (AWS); Esri and the United Nations Major Group on Youth (UN - MGCY). The official languages of the event are English and Spanish.
Participants can be from academia, research institutes or even self-funded teams. The competition includes hands-on workshops and webinars that can be completed remotely by teams at their own pace. The in-person phase involves team building, mentoring, problem-solving and knowledge sharing.
During the Datathon, participants will finish a series of exercises and will propose solutions to the challenges associated with sustainable tourism in the city of Medellín. Proposals will receive higher scores if they are transferable to other locations in Colombia and around the world, and they must be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Information about the Datathon and previous editions can be found at https://unstats.un.org/bigdata/events/2024/un-datathon, which provides full documentation of the data sources and data science tools available for the competition, the types of solutions, previous winners (some of them Brazilian), and resources to improve skills for the competition. There will be an overall Datathon winner, a prize for the best young team (members under 32 years old), and a prize for the best student team.
Important dates
- Registrations: up to October 11 on link https://bit.ly/undatathon2024.
- Training sessions: Ocotober 23 and 30, 2024 + optional office hours on data science tools.
- Openning Ceremony: November 8.
- Competition period: from November 9 to 11, 2024, together with the 5th UN World Data Forum.
ENCE/IBGE coordinates UN Regional Hub for Big Data in Brazil
Resulting from a partnership between the IBGE and the UN Statistics Division, the UN Regional Hub for Big Data in Brazil (https://hub.ibge.gov.br) was launched in November 2021 at the 11th Statistical Conference of the Americas, held by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The Hub is hosted by the National School of Statistical Sciences (ENCE), the academic arm of the the IBGE, which coordinates the efforts and contributions from the different areas of the Institute in supporting the activities of the Regional Hub.
The project aims at contributing to the advancement of the use of big data to improve the production of official statistics, promoting knowledge sharing and the development of innovative initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to Brazil, four other countries are also part of the initiative as hosts of regional or global hubs: the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Rwanda and China.
