ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA Wednesday, October 24, 2012: The Ministry of Finance is pleased to announce that Grenada will be hosting the following CARICOM Meetings: · Thirty-Seventh Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) 29th- 31st October 2012, · The Twenty-Second Meeting of the Regional Census Coordinating Committee (RCCC) 1st November 2012 · The Fifth Research Seminar on Statistics in Grenada, 2nd November 2012. These events are being coordinated by the Central Statistical Office and the CARICOM Secretariat and being sponsored partly by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) acting within the framework of the Treaty establishing the Caribbean Community, in accordance with Resolution No. 54/74/4 of the Fourth Meeting of the Common Market Council of Ministers and subject to the general supervision of Council, was established with the following main objectives: · To foster increased recognition of the importance of adequate statistical services to the countries of the Region; · To widen the scope and coverage of statistical data collection; and · To improve the quality, comparability and timeliness of statistics produced. The Agenda of the SCCS will reflect the following: · Progress Reports by Countries on the Compilation of: National Accounts, Merchandise Trade, Trade in Services, Social/Gender Statistics and Environment Statistics; · Implementation of a strategy for National Accounts; · Development of the Model Statistics Bill; · The updated Regional Statistical Work Programme (RSWP); · The Common Framework for a Literacy Survey. The RCCC Meetings will serve to: · Monitor and evaluate the regional strategy that supports the conduct of the Population and Housing Censuses in countries. · Engage participants in the sharing of experiences, the identification of best practices and challenges and in finding means to support countries in need. The Regional Statistics Research Seminar will focus on: · Presenting issues of concern to producers and users of statistics in the region, highlighting the role of research in improving the capabilities of statistical work from perspectives of both users and producers An invitation is being extended to Media to provide coverage for the Opening Ceremony on Monday 29th October 2012, at 9:00 am, at the Beach Side Terrace, Flamboyant Hotel.