LSA Academy_Meet the team

ROZAN J. H. AL-FARRA

Make the most of your learning!

anastasiia amelkina

Leonardo Vargas

Alex bizzotto

mostafamohamed

VijaPavlovska

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Labour Statistics & analysis Academy

OUR team

Vipasana Karkee

Valentina Stoevska

Antonio Discenza

Andonirina Rakotonarivo

Anna B. Kis

Elizabeth Weathersby

Marie-Claire Sodergren

Elisa Benes

Valeria Nesterenko

Dora Sari Katalin

Rosina Gammarano

Nafradi Balint

Labour Statistics & analysis Academy

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the experts

Vladimir Ganta

Shutong Ding

Michael Frosch

Kieran Walsh

Yves Perardel

Donika Limani

Edgardo Greising

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Hamidreza Bakhtiarizadeh

Weichen Lei

Lara Badre

Labour Statistics & analysis Academy

the experts

Rozan Al-Farra is the tutor of the course. Rozan is a researcher in the field of development cooperation with a focus on international relations and key regional issues related to the Middle East and North Africa region. She is a fellow at the University of Turin and currently works in collaboration with the International Training Center of the International Labor Organization. She holds a Master’s degree in Global Studies and International Cooperation from the University of Turin. E-mail: rozanalfarra@gmail.com

Rozan Al-Farra

I am a Senior Statistician at the International Labour Organization (ILO), specializing in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) statistics. Since 2018, I have been dedicated to producing statistical estimates, developing data, and conducting evidence-based research that informs and advances all aspects of OSH within the ILO's mission. I hold a Ph.D. in physics from EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. Prior to joining the ILO, I spent more than 15 years as a researcher in leading research institutes and universities. My work spanned diverse fields, including materials science, nuclear and nano technology, quantum computing, renewable energy, and space exploration. I have published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and supervised PhD students.

Nafradi Balint

Elisa M. Benes recently took on the role of Senior Labour Migration Statistician in the ILO Statistics Department in Geneva to advance ILO’s global programme of work to support countries in improving their international labour migration statistics. Before she was a member of ILO’s labour force survey (LFS) methodology team, working on LFS modularization. In this capacity, she established and led several pilot projects to develop evidence-based guidance for LFS and issued practical survey modules and guidance for LFS and population censuses. Previously, she was responsible for the adoption of the international standards on statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 2013. Prior to joining the ILO in 2008, Ms. Benes worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, in Geneva, and the United Nations Statistics Division, in New York, supporting international and regional programmes on gender, social and demographic statistics. She has extensive experience in household surveys, including surveys on international labour migration, having also worked for several years as survey manager and field supervisor in the private sector and academia. She holds a PhD in Sociology with a specialization in Demography from Brown University, USA.

Elisa M. Benes

Rosina Gammarano has a degree in Applied Economics from the University of Poitiers and a master's in International and Development Economics from the University of Paris Dauphine. She has more than twelve years of experience in the United Nations System, mostly at the Geneva headquarters of the International Labour Organization. At the ILO, as part of the Department of Statistics, she designed strategic labour market analyses to monitor progress towards sustainable development and supported the production and dissemination of data for evidence-based decision-making. Her experience in reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals led her to design and give training courses in various parts of the world, with the aim of promoting quality data production and analysis, as well as the implementation of the SDG. She joined the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Mexico in 2020, where she acted as the lead economist and SDG specialist. In 2023, she took on a new role within the Statistical Standards and Methods Unit of the ILO Department of Statistics, where she focusses on the measurement of labour market phenomena and supports international standard setting in the field of labour statistics.

Rosina Gammarano

Marie-Claire Sodergren is a Senior Economist in the Data Production and Analysis Unit of the ILO Department of Statistics. She oversees data collection from the annual ILOSTAT questionnaire and data dissemination activities. Before joining the ILO in 2012, she was a Supervisory Economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, where she also worked on international labour statistics.

Marie-Claire Sodergren

Vipasana is a statistician in Data Production and Analysis Unit of the ILO Department of Statistics. She supports microdata processing and annual SDG data reporting on behalf of the ILO.

Vipasana Karkee

Anna B. Kis is as an Economist (Technical Officer) at the Research and Evaluation Unit of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work branch (FUNDAMENTALS) at Headquarters. She has been working at the ILO since 2 October 2023. In her current assignment, her work focuses primarily on forced labour and trafficking for forced labour in various sectors and countries. Before joining the ILO, Ms B. Kis has worked for other international and research organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD and TARKI Research Institute, participating in research related to poverty, inequality, access to education and social protection. She holds a PhD in Development Economics from the Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland.

Anna B. Kis

I am a senior statistician with the ILO department of statistics since 2020, within the Statistical Standard and Methods Unit (SSMU). I am based in Geneva. I have a PhD in demography. I have previously worked for 19 years in a national statistics office, where I was coordinating national level household surveys and related activities. I worked as well within various regional and international statistical cooperation projects and activities. I was a university associate professor and researcher as well.

Lara Badre

Antonio Rinaldo Discenza is a professional statistician of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), an expert in labour market statistics and analysis, a survey methodologist and survey manager. He has over 20 years of experience in the design, build, management, and monitoring of the statistical and technical processes of large household sample surveys for the production of official statistics, such as the labour force survey. He has been working within the international sphere for more than 15 years on an extensive range of activities, such as: designing and delivering formal training courses and training on the job on statistical processes and methodology for large household surveys; technical assistance and statistical capacity building to national statistical offices; and sector reviewing in the field of labour force survey and Labour Market Statistics. Between September 2017 to August 2021 Antonio worked within the Department of Statistics of the International Labour Organization, working on the development of guidance and provision of training and support to countries on the application of the latest international standards and good practices for the measurement of labour and other forms of work in household surveys.

Antonio Rinaldo Discenza

Specialist, Social Protection Statistics, Universal Social Protection Department (SOCPRO), International Labour Office, Geneva Ms Valeria Nesterenko joined the ILO Department of Statistics in 2010 on the project of Monitoring and assessing progress in decent work measurement. She has been working in Data Production Unit on the development of a new database on labour statistics, measurement guidelines for indicators on the quality of employment, data harmonization and standardization. In January 2014 she joined the ILO Department of Social Protection, and until present works as a Specialist on Social Protection Data in the Public Finance, Actuarial and Statistical Services unit of the department; since 2016 responsible for monitoring SDG indicator 1.3.1 on social protection floors. She has worked in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, providing technical assistance on the building monitoring systems on labour and social protection statistics. Valeria holds an MSc degree in International Economics with extensive training in Social Statistics. For over 10 years she has been working in the field of social and labour statistics at national and international levels.

Valeria Nesterenko

Vladimir Ganta is a Senior Statistician working in the ILO Statistics department as a member of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Team. Vladimir believes that the production of reliable and relevant statistics on paid and unpaid work is essential for the successful design and implementation of development policies. Before joining the ILO, Vladimir had worked for 12 years for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Moldova. From his experience, he learned that the modernization of statistical systems should be a constant concern for both producers and users of data. As the head of the Employment Statistics unit of the NBS, Vladimir improved the LFS by restructuring processes, using modern tools and implementing the latest methodologies. In the ILO, Vladimir applies his knowledge and experience to support the development of work statistics systems at the global and national level.

Vladimir Ganta

Vija Pavlovska is the Training Activity co-Assistant Vija joined the ITCILO at 2007. She is a course assistant for training activities at the EPAP Programme. Prior to joining the EPAP team, Vija worked for several other Programmes at the Centre including the PRODEV as a project assistant and was in charge for the administrative implementation of the different projects with the EC, the EU and the Italian Government institutions. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Latvia and the recognition of a degree in Science of Economics from the University of Turin. Vija is fluent in Latvian, Russian, English, and Italian. She speaks basic Spanish and French. email: lmstats@itcilo.org

Vija Pavlovska

Anastasiia Amelkina is the training co-assistant at ITCILO, Employment Policy and Analysis Programme (EPAP). She holds BA in Economics from Moscow State University, Russia, and is expected to receive her MA in International Development from Turin University, Italy. Anastasiia completed her student exchanges in Poland and Denmark. Prior to joining ITCILO, she used to work in the private sector as a Learning&Development specialist for assurance division at Ernst&Young, Moscow. She is fluent in English and Russian, confident in Italian, and speaks basic French. email: lmstats@itcilo.org

Anastasiia Amelkina

Valentina Stoevska is a Senior Statistician in the Department of Statistics at the ILO. She has over 22 years of experience at the ILO, developing international statistical standards in labour statistics, and providing technical support to countries wishing to implement these standards. Since 2017 she has been leading the work on the development of international statistical guidelines on the measurement of and qualification and skill mismatches, and development of statistical tools for measuring skills supply and demand. Before joining the ILO, Valentina worked for 7 years at the National Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia.

Valentina Stoevska

Donika Limani is a development economist whose research focus lies on migration, remittances, child and forced labour. Currently, Donika works as a statistician at the Statistics Department of International Labour Organization (ILO) in Switzerland. She previously taught interdisciplinary MA courses at IHEID in Switzerland for four years (2018-2022). Before that, she worked in the international development sector in Kosovo (2015-2017). Donika holds a BSc in Economics, Politics, and International Studies from the University of Warwick, UK, and an MA in Economic Policy from CEU, Hungary. She holds her PhD in Development Economics from IHEID, Switzerland.

Donika Limani

Alex Bizzotto is the Training Activity Assistant He has a degree in International Studies, a Master degree in China Studies and an extensive background as Export Manager. Since 2018 is working at the ITCILO as Course coordinator, providing logistic and administrative support for courses and activities in Turin, online and in the field. He acts also as Ecampus tutor, Zoom facilitator and focal person for participants. In 2023 he joined the Employment Policy and Analysis Programme. email: lmstats@itcilo.org

Alex Bizzotto

Ms. Elizabeth Weathersby is an Economist in the Research and Evaluation Unit of the Fundamental Principals and Rights at Work branch (FUNDAMENTALS) in the ILO Headquarters. She has been working at the ILO since 2023. Her current work focuses on research and measurement of child labour in various countries across the globe. Her background is in Development Economics and Trade. She holds a master’s in International Trade, Finance and Development from the Barcelona School of Economics.

Elizabeth Weathersby

Weichen Lei is a Knowledge Management Officer at department of Statistics, ILO. He has a degree in Computer Science, and worked more than 20 years as a senior software engineer in both private and public sectors. After joining ILO in 2015, he is responsible for ILO’s data dissemination platform, and has assisted several member states in implementing LMIS projects. Weichen is an active actor in .Stat SIS-CC community, and he regularly participates in development, testing, and deployment activities. In his free time, Weichen enjoys travelling with his family, hiking, and landscape photography."

Weichen Lei

Mr. Shutong Ding is the Knowledge Management Officer at the ILO Department of Statistics since 2015. He is specialized in statistical tools development, data modelling, database management and statistics research. Prior to joining the ILO, he has worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Orebro University and as a research engineer at the Linköping University in Sweden. His research interests include Bayesian inference of time series, variable selection and model choices, machine learning and parallel-distributed algorithm for big data. He holds a PhD and MSc in Statistics from Orebro University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Shanghai University, China.

Shutong Ding

Head of the Knowledge Management Solutions Unit at the Department of Statistics, he joined the ILO in June, 2011. He has wide experience in Statistical Data Processing, Operations Management, Systems Administration, Development and ICT business development, having worked at the National Statistics Office and the Social Development Ministry of Uruguay and as a Consultant for several international organizations in the field of statistical data processing and information systems. He participates in several committees and working groups for the modernization of official statistics, and is a member of the SDMX Technical Working Group and VTL Task Force.

Edgardo Greising

Michael Frosch joined the Statistical Standards and method unit at the Department of Statistics at ILO in 2016. He is the focal point for the measurement of informality and is driving the current revision of the statistical standards on the informal economy, which will be presented for discussion at the 21st ICLS. He has also contributed to the work with developing the new statistical standards on work relationships and is now involved in its implementation. Prior ILO, Michael Frosch worked at Statistics Denmark as Senior advisor responsible of the Danish LFS. Michael Frosch finished his masters in Economics and Political Science at the University of Lund in Sweden in respectively 2006 and 2005.

Michael Frosch

Yves Perardel has a Master in Econometrics from the University of Grenoble in 2005 and a Master from EM Lyon Business School in 2008. He has worked at the ILO since 2008, mostly in the field of labour statistics at the Employment and Statistics Department.

Yves Perardel

Andonirina Rakotonarivo is a Data Analyst at the ILO Department of Statistics where she oversees the annual data collection for the International Labour Migration Statistics (ILMS) database. Before joining the ILO in January 2018, she worked as an Education Data Analyst with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics where she contributed to produce and analyse learning assessment data and SDG indicators on quality education. Her expertise in household surveys analysis lead her to contribute to a guidebook on measuring household expenditure on education, in collaboration with the World Bank. She also published several research papers on internal and international migration while holding research positions with Université de Montréal (Canada), Statistics Belgium and Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium). Andonirina holds a PhD in Demography from the Université Paris-Descartes (France), and a Master’s degree in Economics from the Université catholique de Madagascar (Madagascar).

Andonirina Rakotonarivo

Mostafa Mohamed is a Programme Officer at the ITCILO, responsible for the “Labour Statistics” portfolio of activities at the EPAP Programme. Prior to joining the ITC-ILO, Mostafa worked at the ILO office in Cairo. Prior to his work at the ILO, Mostafa implemented a technical cooperation project on promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship in rural areas through Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Mostafa holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University in Boston and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick in Canada. email: m.mohamed@itcilo.org

Mostafa Mohamed

Kieran Walsh is a Senior Statistician in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Methodology Team of the ILO Department of Statistics. His focus is on providing support to countries seeking to implement the LFS using the latest standards and practices.

Kieran Walsh

Hamidreza Bakhtiarizadeh is a microdata analyst at the Statistics Department of the International Labour Organization (ILO), where he processes data from multiple countries to produce harmonized labor force indicators. From 2018 to 2023, he taught statistics to master’s students at the Geneva Graduate Institute. He holds a Master of Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and a Master of Urban Studies from Simon Fraser University, also in Vancouver, Canada. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Development Economics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, which he expects to complete in 2025.

Hamidreza Bakhtiarizadeh

Dora Sari Katalin is a focal point for the 2024 Labour Statistics & Analysis Academy. Dora is a Specialist on Industrial Relations Indicators in the Rights, Migration and Skills Statistics Unit of the ILO Department of Statistics. As a lawyer and political scientist, she has over 15 years of work experience on the field of international labour regulation with a particular focus and interest in the development and use of quantitative and qualitative indicators of industrial relations and social dialogue.

Dora Sari Katalin

Since 2018, Leonardo has collaborated with the ITC-ILO as a consultant. His areas of expertise are development economics, labour economics, labour migration, multilateral and bilateral cooperation, and sustainable development. In 2017, before joining the ITC-ILO, Leonardo collaborated as a political advisor (internship programme) for the Mexican Mission to the United Nations. He then began collaborating with the International Labour Organization -ILO Regional Office in San José, Costa Rica. Leonardo holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (2017). Leonardo is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Italian. email: lmstats@itcilo.org

Leonardo Vargas