1st August, 2011
Dissemination and Use of Population and Housing Census Results with Gender Concern Workshop
The sub-regional training on the ‘Dissemination and Use of Population and Housing Census Results with Gender Concern’ which was conducted jointly by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the University of the South Pacific (USP)
was held from 25 - 29 July, 2011 in Suva, Fiji.
This is part of the assistance provided by the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP-ESCAP), UNFPA
Asia-Pacific Regional Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan towards countries in the
Asia-Pacific region to strengthen their capabilities in conducting the 2010 round of population and housing census.
The workshop is one of the many courses/workshops at the national, sub-regional and regional levels for training
government officials/statisticians in the collection, analysis and dissemination of high quality and timely census data
with gender concern.
In his remarks at the opening of the workshop, Professor Biman Chand Prasad, Dean of the Faculty of Business and
Economics (FBE) welcomed the participants to USP and said that the University is “pleased” to host the workshop.
He stated that the University through FBE is working with UNFPA to improve capacity in the area of official statistics
and population issues by developing appropriate credit courses and short-term training courses for public sector
officials working in national statistical offices and ministries of planning and finance in the region.
The workshop, which was hosted at the Japan-Pacific ICT Centre at USP, was aimed at strengthening the capability of
government officials on the dissemination and use of the 2010 round of population and housing census data for policy
making.
Highlighting the importance of the workshop, Professor Prasad said that it provides an opportunity for participants to
learn and exchange national experiences in using census results for developing national and sub-national level plans,
monitoring MDGs and gender mainstreaming.
According to Professor Prasad, the training is intended for managers of the 2010 round of population and housing census
at the bureau/department of national statistical agencies, senior officials of civil population registration offices, as
well as heads of departments/divisions of the ministries of health and finance who develop national and sub-national
plans, set goals, monitor and evaluate the progress in achieving these goals.
The workshop was attended by participants from Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands
and Timor Leste.
ENDS