The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and BPS-Statistics Indonesia agreed on a partnership to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in OIC Member States”.

The Centre organized a Knowledge and Experience Sharing Workshop on ISMEK Master Trainers Programme in collaboration with the Centre for Art and Vocational Training Courses of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İSMEK), on 29-30 December 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Workshop was attended by Dr. Mouhamad Mpezamihigo, Vice Rector of Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), Dr. Musa Matovu, Director of the IUIU Quality Assurance Unit and Dr. Wardah Rajab Gyagenda, Director of Research, Publications and Innovations Unit at IUIU, within the context of knowledge and experience sharing of the ISMEK art and vocational training system via feasibility, organisational and management structure, and technical aspects of VET institutions.

The Centre was represented in the COMSTECH Consultative Meeting of OIC Organisations in preparation to the OIC Summit on Science and Technology, which was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 24-26 December 2014. The meeting was attended by OIC General Secretariat, COMCEC, SESRIC, IDB, ISESCO, IDB, International Islamic University in Uganda and Inter-Islamic Networks in Various Disciplines.

In accordance with its 2014 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the Training Course on 'Agriculture Statistics (Animal Husbandry)' on 23-24 December 2014 at the premises of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was provided by Ms. Hasnizar Nasution, an expert of BPS-Statistics Indonesia, and was attended by relevant officials of the BBS.

The Centre organised a training programme on “Derivative Markets and Instruments & Marginal Trading” at the Khartoum Stock Exchange on 22-23 December 2014, within the framework of OIC Capacity Building Programme for Stock Exchanges (OIC-SEP). The Course was provided Mrs. Touba Dehghani Ahmad Abad, Head of Market Operations, Tehran Stock Exchange of Iran, with participation of relevant members of the Khartoum Stock Exchange of Sudan.

In accordance with its 2014 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the Training Course on 'Agriculture Statistics (Food Crop Statistics)' on 21-22 December 2014 at the premises of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was provided by Dr. Kadarmanto, an expert of BPS-Statistics Indonesia, and was attended by relevant officials of the BBS.

In accordance with its 2014 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the Training Course on ‘Classifications’ at the National Office of Statistics (ONS) in Alger, People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on 21-22 December 2014, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was provided by Mrs. Asmaa Abdelrasoul Mohamed Mourad, senior specialist at Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) of Arab Republic of Egypt with participation of relevant officials of ONS of Algeria

The Seventh Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research (ICMHESR-7) has been held on 18-19 December 2014 in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. Organised by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Conference was attended by Ministers and High-level Officials of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the OIC Member Countries as well as representatives from OIC and other international institutions to discuss issues pertaining to higher education and scientific research in the member countries. Mr. Hüseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Statistics and Information Department, represented SESRIC at this conference.

The Final Report of the “Atlas of Islamic World Science and Innovation (AIWSI)” Project has been launched as sidelines to the Seventh Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research (ICMHESR) held on 18-19 December 2014 in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. The launch event was attended by Ministers and High-level Officials of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the OIC Member Countries.

The Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences (ISOSS) organized, under the sponsorship of SESRIC, the 13th Islamic Countries Conference on Statistical Sciences (ICCS-13) in Bogor, Indonesia on 18 - 21 December 2014. Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, made a welcome speech on 18 December 2014 where he focused on the linkages between National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and academia including higher education institutes and research centres. Citing findings concerning the unstructured relationship between two entities, Prof. Alpay emphasized the need for institutionalising the linkages between NSOs and academia to result in a mutually beneficial outcome based on collaborative work that drives innovation, and high quality data and research output.

The Centre organised a training programme on “Derivative Markets and Instruments and Marginal Trading” at the Baku Stock Exchange on 16-17 December 2014, within the framework of OIC Capacity Building Programme for Stock Exchanges (OIC-SEP). The Course was provided by Mr. Sait Şatıroğlu, Director of Financial Derivatives Markets Department, Borsa İstanbul of the Republic of Turkey with participation of relevant members of the Baku Stock Exchange of Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Centre, in collaboration with Turkish Competition Authority, organised a training course on ‘Competition Law and Policy’ within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC CA-CaB) on 16-18 September 2014 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The course was provided by Mr. Mehmet Yanık, Antitrust Expert & Case Handler, and Mr. İbrahim Aydemir, Deputy Head of Education and Competition Advocacy at the Turkish Competition Authority, and was attended by experts from the Council of Competition, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The World Conference on the Role of Women in Charity Work was organized by International Islamic Charity Organization (IICO) under the generous auspieces of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Amir of Kuwait, on 15-17 December 2014 in Kuwait.

The Regional Workshop on Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Accounts was organised by SESRIC in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on 2-4 December 2014 at SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey within framework of the 2013-SESRIC-0111 Project which is among the successful final projects selected for the Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme Funding of the OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC).

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) in partnership with the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) and Jordan Department of Statistics and within the framework of the Global Gender Statistics Programme, organized the Regional Workshop on 'Integrating a Gender Perspective in the Production of Statistics' for Arabic-speaking countries in Amman, Jordan on 1-4 December 2014.

The Centre organised a training course on “Job Creation for Youth and Skills Training Services” within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Public Employment Services (OIC PESCaB) on 1-2 December 2014 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The training course was held at the State Employment Service operating under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population and the course was provided by a Mr. Eser Erol, Employment Expert from Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) with the participation of relevant members of the State Employment Service, Azerbaijan.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (ICCIA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of UNDP, organized a Workshop on “Capacity Building on Value Chain Analysis for Agri-Business for OIC Countries” in Ankara, Turkey, on 1-3 December 2014.

On the occasion of the COMCEC’s 30th anniversary along with the regular sessions, several special sessions have been organized during 25-28 November 2014. One of these special sessions was on the role of NGOs in the development efforts of the Islamic countries. The meeting was attended by delegations of OIC Member States attending the ministerial COMCEC Session, NGOs, the OIC Institutions, representatives of International Organizations, academicians and other relevant stakeholders.

As a side event of the 30th Session of COMCEC, SESRIC and Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB) have jointly organized a special session on “The Economic and Social Impacts of Epidemics and OIC Response: The Case of Ebola” with the aim of discussing the critical actions that need to be taken to halt the spread of the disease and reduce the impact on the economy and the short and long term health of citizens of the countries in the West Africa. The event is organized within the framework of the new IDB & SESRIC report on “Managing Disasters and Conflicts in OIC Countries”, which was submitted to the COMCEC, and in an effort to mobilize actions on the part of OIC member countries in support of disaster risk management programs and sustainable development in OIC countries by focusing on the particular case of Ebola.

In accordance with its 2014 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Culture Statistics' at the National Agency of Statistics and Demographics (ANSD ) in Dakar, Republic of Senegal on 25-26 November 2014. The course was conducted by Mr. Kouadio Marcel Kouakou, Assistant Director of Statistics and Informatics Department at the Ministry of Culture and Francophone Affairs of Côte d'Ivoire with the participation of 15 experts of the ANSD.