The learning exchange workshops

The learning exchange workshops 

Between April 2024 and August 2025, each country hosted a learning exchange workshop at key stages in the initiative, where representatives gathered to set out the structure for how they would work together, review progress, and exchange insights and lessons learned. 

Kenya Learning Exchange

Nairobi, April 2024

At the first learning exchange in Kenya, the countries met for the first time and agreed on shared priorities. This included:

• Discussions on the key elements of the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data.
• Creating country-specific action plans and identifying use cases.
• Building relationships across National Statistical Offices (NSOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and partners.
• Visiting the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ (KNBS') Data Science Training Centre to learn how the NSO is developing inclusive data use through training that covers data collection, analysis, and visualization.

Outcomes 

The exchange marked the beginning of sustained South-South collaboration, with each country developing draft workplans outlining priorities and partnerships for the following 6-12 months. 

• Colombia identified priorities for strengthening institutional arrangements between its NSO, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE), and civil society organizations.
• Ghana pledged to expand mobile technology integration for citizen data collection.
• Kenya committed to advancing its citizen data quality criteria and maintaining an open-door policy for CSO collaboration.

The event established a foundation of trust and mutual learning that would underpin subsequent exchanges, with participants noting the value of the diverse stakeholder format and interactive discussions in fostering genuine cross-country exchanges.

Ghana Learning Exchange

Accra, August 2025

At the learning exchange in Ghana, the countries:

• Focused on taking pilots into practice.
• Shared progress, remaining challenges, and future commitments.
• Highlighted how cultural and community structures support inclusive data.
• Had a tour of Ghana Statistical Service's (GSS') impressive machine learning capabilities, and a demo of Ghana's work to build citizen-centred mobile apps, working with mobile networks to support the technical rollout.

This event represented the culmination of the initiative, with participants sharing their progress and deep dives on lessons learned, challenges faced and solutions developed, and setting their future commitments on inclusive data practices. 

Outcomes 

The three participating countries translated their learning from MIDN into concrete institutional commitments.

• Ghana pledged to close critical data gaps on female genital mutilation while strengthening municipal capacity for sensitive data collection.
• Kenya committed to institutionalizing inclusive data principles across sub-national systems through gender statistics guidelines and disability standards.
• Colombia committed to finalizing its citizen data framework and advancing its maturity model to a continental scale. 

The exchange also identified specific MIDN contributions for the Expert Group Meeting for the Collaborative on Citizen Data in Bangkok in November 2025, and for the Global Data Festival in June 2026, positioning the three countries as ongoing leaders in South-South collaboration on inclusive data.