The journalists are important users of statistics as they relay information to different other categories of users. If they understand the data, what they say and how they are build, they may be in a better position to analyse them and to relay an information of quality. This may in turn have an impact on the level of trust and confidence that people put on official statistics.

After an intense work at the regional level, MEDSTAT IV coached national teams to prepare and deliver training projects involving statisticians and journalists (Communication for statistics – C4S). The national teams developed country-tailored processes of different kind from training courses involving only statisticians to ones involving only journalists or to courses for both audiences. In most countries, only one course was delivered (2 or 3 days) but in Israel and Morocco, the processes developed as series of articulated workshops on different statistical topics.

The country experiences were presented and discussed in all their details and all the statistical offices present in the meeting acknowledged the usefulness and the interest of improving the relations with the journalists and to make the exercise an integral part of their regular training programmes. They all agree that there are mutual benefits from a deeper relation.

The MEDSTAT IV project provides expertise and technical support to promote the harmonisation of statistics in line with EU and international standards in 6 domains: business register and business, trade and balance of payments, energy, labour market, migration and transport. It follows on the previous phase implemented over the period 2010-2013.

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MEDSTAT IV