At the opening of the conference, the President of the NSI Sergey Tsvetarsky noted that the future of official statistics in the era of Big Data is still a matter of discussions and experimental studies. At the same time, he underlined the need for the entire international and European statistical community to adapt to the new digital reality and to respond adequately to the opportunities and challenges, which it offers.
Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General of Eurostat, made a presentation on the topic “From Big Data to trusted Smart Statistics – Official statistics in a digital society and economy”. She stressed that smart systems are constantly evolving and this requires that official statistics remain part of those systems. In this way, smart statistics are developing in the framework of the European Statistical System, where credibility is a key element. A prerequisite for this to happen is a change of mindset and human capital skills.
The President of Statistics Poland Dominik Rozkrut delivered a keynote speech on the topic “Big Data in official statistics - where has the velocity gone?”. According to him, at this stage the need to integrate Big Data in the statistical business process has become evident, which requires a high level of standardisation at the conceptual and technological level. At the same time, the strategic partnership between National Statistical Institutes and owners of Big Data sources is crucial for achieving ultimate success.
During the two days of the conference, the results of the various project work packages were discussed with all participating European countries, experts, representatives of Eurostat, international organisations, academia and businesses in Bulgaria.
At the closing session of the seminar, a broad discussion was held on the influence of Big Data on official statistics and the future of the European Statistical System. During the panel discussion, the participants emphasised the importance of building partnerships with private entities and academia, as well the role of National Statistical Institutes in the context of the digitalisation of the economy and society.
This is the second time such an event hosted by the National Statistical Institute is held in Sofia. In the future, the NSI will continue to work on projects in the field of Big Data.
