There is a central global inequality which hampers progress towards development. At the moment, we know the least about the people who have the least. But these are the people who need the world’s attention the most. Turning global or national aspirations to end poverty into real changes in people’s lives will involve knowing more about how the poorest people live, and improving their ability to access and use data.

The Cartagena Data Festival, a three day festival in Colombia, organised by ODI, Africa Gathering, CEPEI, Data-Pop Alliance, PARIS21, UNDP and UNFPA, focused on solving critical gaps in coverage, access and analysis of data, thereby contributing to the global effort to drive progress in the post-2015 agenda.

Conference objectives:

• Drive the changes that are needed to advance a data revolution by bringing together the people and organisations whose innovations, resources, expertise and influence can make them happen

• Develop concrete solutions and practical tools to produce long term and sustainable progress through a data revolution
• Build the ideas, innovations and partnerships needed to monitor the sustainable development goals

The Cartagena Data Festival brought together 300 participants from across the world – including government representatives, civil society organisations, technical innovators, academics and data activists – to join the global conversation and ensure the data revolution is informed by perspectives at every level.

The event came nearly one year before the start date for new global goals to inspire and monitor progress towards ending poverty and setting the world on a more sustainable course. While the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals for the Post-2015 agenda has been largely a job for governments and those who advise and support them, implementing them will require much broader constituencies and more creative coalitions. In Cartagena, we aimed to build the ideas, innovations and relationships that will be needed to monitor the goals and enable them to be met. Partner organisations with specialised knowledge and networks developed the programmes for different tracks, which ran in parallel during the event, offering something of value to each and every attendee.

Please visit the Cartagena Data Festival website for more information.