Dear colleagues,
In the Irish language there is an expression, Céad míle fáilte. It means a hundred thousand welcomes. I am looking forward to giving you all a Céad míle fáilte to the 108th Annual Conference of the Directors General of the National Statistical Institutes (DGINS), which will be held in the Clayton Hotel, in Ireland’s second largest city, Cork, on the 18th and 19th of October 2023. 
I know that many of you will also be attending the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) meeting which will be held at the same venue on the following day, the 20th of October which just happens to be European Statistics Day.
The DGINS conference is held every year to discuss an important topic related either to the statistical work programme or to the methods and processes used to produce European statistics. The topic for this year’s DGINS could not be more relevant or topical. Our discussions will focus on the challenges and opportunities for official statistics in the context of climate change and the energy crisis.
The conference will allow us to consider and discuss the accelerating demand for evidence and insight in the climate and energy space. We will talk about the data gaps evident at household, commercial, industrial and national levels across our various countries. We will consider how we can use new technologies, new methodologies and new data sources to meet this need for new outputs and greater insight and evidence.
DGINS provides an opportunity to see the commonality of many of the challenges we face in delivering evidence and insight for our communities and societies. It is an opportunity to learn from one another, to share how we are meeting our users demands, what worked and perhaps even more importantly, what did not work. It is through this shared learning and exchange of experiences that we can better plan to deliver the insights needed to support decision making across government, businesses and society.
While there is lots of work to be done during your time in Ireland, there will also be an opportunity to experience some famous Irish hospitality which I hope you will really enjoy.
I look forward to seeing you in October.
Welcome to Cork, Ireland!
Cork is Ireland’s second-largest city and is over 800 years old. It is a city of 230,000 residents and is situated on the southern coastline of Ireland. It is a city rich in culture, arts, academia, sport and has a rich maritime history.
Cork people are famed for their hospitality and for having the “craic”. Discover a taste of true genuine Cork hospitality when you visit DGINS 2023.
DGINS accommodation packages cannot be guaranteed after this date.
The French Directeurs Généraux des Instituts Nationaux Statistiques (DGINS) conference was established on 15 July 1953 in Luxembourg. The conference is held once a year to discuss an important topic related to the statistical programme or the methods and processes used to produce European statistics.
Each year it is hosted by a different National Statistical Institute of the ESS and it is the most important forum in the European Union for exchanging views about the future and development of the European Statistical System (ESS).
This year the 2023 DGINS conference will be hosted by the Central Statistics Office, Ireland and will take place in Cork, Ireland on 18 – 19 October. It will focus on official statistics in the context of climate change and energy crises.
