September 25 , 2000
The UNESCO institute for statistics to be established on the Université de Montréal campus
 

The Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Ms Denise Lievesley, confirmed today during a press briefing that the UIS will be established on the campus of the University of Montreal. This decision follows a rigorous selection process in which UNESCO had to choose between four candidate cities : Montreal, Birmingham (United Kingdom), the Hague (Netherlands) and Paris (France).

The Institute’s mandate is to provide reliable and up-to-date statistics and analysis in order to assist decision-making in Member States and to facilitate democratic debate in UNESCO’s fields of competence. “The richness of its professional network and the quality of the technical support to which the Institute will have access were instrumental in the choice of Montreal” Ms Lievesley underlined.

“The combined efforts of all our partners, the international reputation of Canada in the domain of the collection and validation of statistical data, as well as the tradition of excellence and of collaboration between different research institutes and the exceptional quality of life here all played in Montreal’s favour” affirmed Mr Jacques Girard, President of Montreal International. Indeed, Montreal is the city which best met the three objectives of the UIS, that is 1) to ensure the quality of the data, the validity of the analysis and the efficient evaluation of programmes; 2) to improve the capacities of Member States to collect and analyze data; 3) to provide to its staff and their families a hospitable and dynamic environment.

The establishment of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics will make Montreal the world capital of social statistics and during the first decade will have economic repercussions of between 8 and 10 million dollars per year.

For Quebec’s universities, the presence of the UIS will also help promote the high quality of statistical research while developing new partnerships. “This decision not only confirms our place in the international network of statistical research, but also considerably strengthens it.” affirms Mr Patrick Robert, Vice-Rector, Public Affairs and Development at the Université de Montréal.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is part of the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO). It became operational in July 1999 and its role within the United Nations is to collect all statistics in the domains of education, science and technology, culture and communication. The UIS will be the centre of an international network of experts and institutions dealing with statistics in UNESCO’s fields of competence.

Montreal International
A private, non-profit organization, Montreal International has three important mandates to fulfill: to promote the economic advantages of Greater Montreal at an international level, to attract foreign investment and to help in the establishment and the development of international organizations in the region. Created in 1996, Montreal International is the result of a joint initiative between the private sector, the Canadian Government, the Quebec Government, the City of Montreal and the municipalities and economic development agencies of the metropolitan area.

Université de Montréal
L'Université de Montréal is one of the important research Universities in Canada. With its two affiliated schools, the École Polytechnique and the École des Hautes Études Commerciales, it offers study programmes at all levels in nearly all domains of knowledge. It has 1 700 teachers and more than 44 500 students, of which 10 265 at graduate and post-graduate levels, which makes it second in Canada for the number of students in high level tertiary education. It is also placed second amongst Canadian research universities for subsidies and research contracts.

In the development of social statistics, the University of Montreal works in partnership notably with the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), a constituent of the Université du Québec dedicated to oriented research and high learning. Through its two research centers in social sciences, the INRS conducts high-level research in the UIS’ fields of expertise.

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For information
Sophie langlois
Direction des communications
Tel.: (514) 343-7704
www.umontreal.ca

Le•la Loupis
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Tel : (33-1) 45 68 20 04
www.unesco.org/statistics

Catherine Escojido
MontrŽal International
Tel. : (514) 987-8191
www.montreal-intl.com

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