To address the need for building the necessary capacity and knowledge on the use of indicators , a series of briefing and training workshops at the regional level was initiated from November 1996 through June 1997 . These were organized by the secretariat of the Commission with the support and cooperation of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ( ESCAP ) and the Government of the Netherlands for the Asia and Pacific region ; the Government of Costa Rica for the Latin America and the Caribbean region ; and the Government of Ghana for the Africa region .