Michaela Saisana

It is increasingly important to gather appropriate information in the correct ways and times in order to have an accurate picture of our societies to make choices that impact the lives of so many people. As Michaela Saisana reminds us, one tool for doing this is composite indicators, which, if appropriately configured, can be genuine game-changers and generators of important information for implementing actions that will produce great improvements in our lives and to our planet.

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Michael Green 

The term Gross Domestic Product is often talked about as if it were “handed down from god on tablets of stone.” But this concept was invented by an economist in the 1930s. We need a more effective measurement tool to match 21st century needs, says Michael Green: the Social Progress Index. With charm and wit, he shows how this tool measures societies across the three dimensions that actually matter. And reveals the dramatic reordering of nations that occurs when you use it.

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Simon Anholt 

It's an unexpected side effect of globalization: problems that once would have stayed local—say, a bank lending out too much money—now have consequences worldwide. But still, countries operate independently, as if alone on the planet. Policy advisor Simon Anholt has dreamed up an unusual scale to get governments thinking outwardly: The Good Country Index. In a riveting and funny talk, he answers the question, "Which country does the most good?" The answer may surprise you (especially if you live in the US or China).

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Nic Marks 

Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation's success by its productivity - instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be surprised.

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Hans Rosling 

In Hans Rosling’s hands, data sings. Global trends in health and economics come to vivid life. And the big picture of global development - with some surprisingly good news-snaps into sharp focus. Rosling's presentations were grounded in solid statistics, illustrated by the visualization software he developed. The animations transform development statistics into moving bubbles and flowing curves that make global trends clear, intuitive and even playful. During his legendary presentations, Rosling took this one step farther, narrating the animations with a sportscaster's flair.

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Hans Rosling 

Hans Rosling's famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport's commentator's style to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before - using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of 'The Joy of Stats' he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.

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Valentina Montalto 

“Not everything that counts can be measured, and not everything that can be measured counts.” Valentina Montalto, a researcher at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, speaks about the project of the Cultural and creative cities monitor, an instrument with which the complex concept of culture can be measured, and with which it has been possible to identify the most cultural and creative cities in Europe.

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