DHAKA, Aug 22, 2025 (BSS) - The Bangladesh Statistical Association (BSA) today inaugurated the 19th National Statistical Conference 2025, kicking off a two-day gathering of the country's top statisticians, data scientists and policymakers at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center (BCFCC) in the city.

With the theme "Advancing Official Statistics through Data Science: Bridging Tradition and Innovation," this year's conference places a spotlight on integrating classical statistical approaches with modern data science techniques to enhance evidence-based policymaking and national development strategies.

Planning Adviser Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud attended the opening ceremony as chief guest.

The event was also graced by Executive Chairman of PPRC and Chairperson of BRAC Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division, Ministry of Planning, Aleya Akter and Vice Chancellor of the Asian University of Bangladesh Professor Dr. Shahjahan Khan, who joined as special guests.

President of BSA and Professor at the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka Syed Shahadat Hossain presided over the event.

Secretary General of BSA and Joint Secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division Dr. Dipankar Roy delivered the welcome address, while the ceremony was conducted by Cultural Secretary of BSA and ISRT faculty member Professor Jahida Gulshan.

Speakers at the opening session underscored the central role of data in shaping effective policies and development interventions. 

However, they cautioned that the growing volume and variety of data present new challenges in aligning non-traditional data sources with official statistical systems. 

They called for deeper collaboration between statisticians, data scientists and professionals across sectors - a vision the BSA aims to advance through this annual platform.

Convener of the Conference Convening Committee and BSA's Research and Publications Secretary Professor Md. Shafiqur Rahman said the two-day event will feature: two keynote speeches, 24 invited talks across three special sessions, 10 contributed technical sessions featuring 96 presentations on statistical methodologies, official statistics and applied data science.

A special roundtable discussion with UN development partners is also scheduled, aiming to strengthen partnerships for advancing the use of statistics in national planning.

The conference continues through Saturday, promoting cross-disciplinary dialogue and innovation to support Bangladesh's future development agenda.