On May 12, 2026, Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) hosted the country's inaugural stakeholders' meeting for the Make Inclusive Data the Norm (MIDN) initiative at its headquarters in Abuja, marking Nigeria's entry into a growing group of countries working to close data gaps for underrepresented populations.
On July 2, 2026, in Cali, Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) presented the Marco de Datos Ciudadanos para Colombia, the country's first Citizen Data Framework. The Framework is an institutional roadmap that guides how citizen data is produced, managed, and used under clear standards of quality, ethics, and participation.
New York, July 14, 2026
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data today announced the appointment of Jenna Slotin of Canada as its next Chief Executive Officer. Slotin has served as Interim CEO since September 2025 and brings to the role over twenty years of experience at the forefront of multilateral policy innovation and delivery, including over a decade of leadership at the Global Partnership.
From June 2–5, more than 1,300 attendees gathered in Nairobi for the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference, a four-day global conversation on data, space technology, and building a more resilient future.
Participants came from every sector, joined by high-level government representatives, including H.E. Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, Prof. Kithure Kindiki.
The breadth of media coverage, across national and international outlets, reflected the significance of the discussions taking place. Read the stories below.
(Based on the press release published by the United Nations Guatemala office)
On June 10, 2026, the Government of Guatemala, together with agencies of the United Nations System in Guatemala, presented the Power of Data initiative to strengthen the country's capacity for evidence-based decision-making.
At a time of rapid technological change, shifting geopolitics, and shrinking development budgets, governments, practitioners, and development partners will gather in Nairobi for a global conversation about the future of data and space technology for a more resilient future.
Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference
When: June 2–5, 2026
Where: The Edge Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
Details: www.gdfksec2026.org
The Inclusion Pavilion opens at the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference in Nairobi on June 2, bringing together practitioners, advocates, and policymakers around a shared question: what does it actually take to build data systems that count everyone? The Pavilion, sponsored by Sightsavers and Equality Insights, runs across all four days of the Festival as an open, interactive space that brings inclusive data to life.
Kenya has been a committed Inclusive Data Charter Champion since 2018, when the government signed the charter at the Global Disability Summit, pledging to ensure that the most marginalized people would not be invisible in national data systems. That commitment took concrete form in the IDC Action Plan 2021–2025, co-signed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection's Directorate of Social Development and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), to strengthen the collection, analysis, and use of disability-disaggregated data across government.
On 9 April 2026, Cabo Verde held a landmark technical workshop on disability data systems strengthening, convened by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and supported by the IDC Secretariat and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.
On Thursday, March 12, Paraguay's National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the National Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SENADIS) presented the Technical Guidance Document for the harmonization of variables on disability data. The workshop, and the process to develop the guidance, was supported by the Global Partnership through the Inclusive Data Charter (IDC) initiative.