The Data Validation Workshop for the Education, Labour, Skills and Culture Thematic Group was successfully conducted on 18 June 2026 in virtual format

The Data Validation Workshop for the Education, Labour, Skills and Culture Thematic Group was successfully conducted on 18 June 2026 in virtual format. The workshop focused on reviewing the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators relevant to the thematic area, with particular emphasis on SDGs 4, 8, 9 and 11, covering education, research and development, industry, skills development and cultural heritage. Discussions centered on revisiting selected indicators and targets to ensure better alignment with national priorities and relevant international commitments.

The session also facilitated the identification of localized/proxy SDG indicators to reflect the local context, national efforts and areas where the country demonstrates comparatively strong performance in SDG implementation. Key discussion areas included assessing the current availability and quality of data, identifying data gaps and promoting an integrated approach to addressing these gaps to strengthen national SDG progress reporting.

The session was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Ministry of Science & Technology, Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, National Science Foundation and the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau. The representative of the Department of Census and Statistics also attended as an observer to provide technical assistance in validating the data.