SACO opens up world of cultural statistics at practical workshop
STATISTICAL analysis may seem foreign to many in the creative and cultural industries, but it is a critical part of monitoring, measuring and evaluating the industry’s impact. This lesson was recently learnt by participants at an in-depth statistics workshop hosted by the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) in Cape Town.
The SACO is running a number of domain and statistics workshops around the country in an effort to build capacity, skills and understanding of tools of measurement within the cultural and creative industries. The workshop ‘Practical Application of Statistics to the Cultural and Creative Industries’ took place in Cape Town a month ago.
It is important to develop a base of strong statistical researchers that focus on arts, culture and heritage research as these sectors can be leveraged for both social and economic – and a myriad of other intangible –ends, the SACO said.
Presented by SACO researchers Professor Igor Litvine (PhD Statistics) and Sihle Poswayo (BSc Hons Statistics), the training workshop introduced attendees to the basics of data sources, data collection, cleaning and organising data, as well as offering insight into explanatory analysis.
The free workshop targeted industry practitioners and researchers, government officials, postgraduate students and academics, who walked away with new skills they could readily apply in their current endeavours.
“Skills development is more about building understanding and opening doors than about teaching people how to move from A to B. Statistics can be a daunting subject by any stretch, but once you understand it, it becomes fascinating – especially when you start applying it to real life examples, that’s when the data comes alive. We think that over the two days we managed to demonstrate this and to provide takeaways that can be instantly applied,” said Prof Litvine.
Over the two days attendees learnt how to identify sources of data for cultural statistics in South Africa. They became familiar with the most appropriate methods for cultural data visualisation and were able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the basics of internationally recognised methods for accessing national cultural development and growth.
Critically, they also worked to grasp the challenges and opportunities associated with data collection in South Africa.
Poswayo explains the process: “We showed the participants how use Microsoft Excel to perform explanatory analysis and visualisation of cultural data, understand the basics of data analysis reporting, and apply the Cerographic Coordinate system and find correct positioning via Google Maps.”
Attendees praised the workshop for the practical content shared by the speakers, saying that a world of potential was opened up through a deeper understanding of how statistics can be applied.
Through hands-on activities, attendees reported that they found the segments on visual and data collection most rewarding. The presenters were also praised for the range of industry examples and schools of thought applied to the statistical examples used in the workshop.
“These workshops are of particular importance to practitioners, officials, researchers and other interested parties linked to the Arts, Culture and Heritage sectors and to the related Cultural and Creative Industries.
“In a modest yet significant way, they are a response to the extensive training and capacity building needs within such sectors and industries,” said Professor Richard Haines, SACO Chief Executive.
The next SACO ‘Practical Application to Statistics Workshop’ will be held on November 10 and 11 in Gauteng at Misty Hills Conference Centre in Muldersdrift. Please register by contacting Bavuyile Mbatha on 041 5044930 by Thursday, November 3.