The Deputy-President of the NSI participated in an academic conference on sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Southeast Europe

The Deputy-President of the NSI, Diana Yancheva, participated in an academic conference titled “Beyond GDP: Measuring Just and Green Transitions for Resilient and Inclusive Economic Growth”, which took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event was organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), which is an operational body of the South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) and the Regional Studies Association (RSA) – a global community for scientific and regional research.

The conference was attended by representatives of the statistical institutes of the countries from Southeast Europe, leading academic figures, experts from various scientific and professional fields, as well as representatives from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Within the span of two days, participants discussed the possible methods to develop evidence-based and policy-based frameworks to measure sustainable and inclusive development, well-being and sustainability. The event’s programme covered a wide range of topics aimed at measuring inclusive economic growth such as green transition, social progress, quality of life, regional competitiveness and informal economies, with a focus on the Western Balkans. The RCC’s proposed South-East Europe Inclusive Growth Index (SEE IGI), developed in close cooperation with Cambridge Econometrics, was also discussed. The Index, which contains key socio-economic indicators for the countries of the region, was developed on the basis of the South-East Europe Sustainable Development Strategy (SEE2030) and the Agreement of the Southeast European economies on the establishment of such an Index, as part of the quantitative monitoring of the Strategy. The aim of the SEE IGI is to guide the implementation of the Strategy and to support the economies of Southeast Europe and the region as a whole in achieving inclusive growth.

The Deputy-President of the NSI also participated in a work meeting of the Network of the Statistical Authorities (NSA) of the countries from the SEECP, which took place immediately after the conference. The meeting was held in person for the first time and aims to promote the expansion of statistical cooperation and dialogue in the region of Southeast Europe, as well as the discussion of common problems and novelties in the process of producing and dissemination official statistics.

The two events are part of the RCC’s work programme.