Imagine my surprise when I read the following (excerpts from the Istanbul Declaration 2007, Second OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy):
(...) The availability of statistical indicators of economic, social, and environmental outcomes and their dissemination to citizens can contribute to promoting good governance and the improvement of democratic processes. It can strengthen citizens’ capacity to influence the goals of the societies they live in through debate and consensus building, and increase the accountability of public policies. (...)
To take this work forward we need to: (...) produce a broader, shared, public understanding of changing conditions, while highlighting areas of significant change or inadequate knowledge;
Now compare it to this quote by Otto Neurath from 1926:“Modern democracy requires the general population to be educated about the facts of production, emigration, child mortality, trade, unemployment, the fight against tuberculosis and alcoholism, nutrition, the importance of sports, physical and emotional nurturing, forms of education, social housing, location of industries.”
This was no coincidence, it was fate, connecting the strong social agenda of Information Design to the statistics community. Why had we not thought of this before? It it because we tend to focus too narrowly on the visual aspects of ISOTYPE?
The aims of the International Institute for Information Design (IIID):
- contribute to a better understanding with respect to cultural and economic issues by means of improved visual communication.
- give special attention to the potential of information design to overcome both social and language barriers.
Watch this space.
No comments:
Post a Comment