SESRTCIC PARTICIPATES IN THE 2007 AFRICA SYMPOSIUM ON STATISTICAL DEVELOPMENT

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the National Institute for Statistics in Rwanda, and Statistics South Africa co-organised the 2007 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development: Africa Counts: “Towards a Complete Enumeration of the African Population during the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses”. The Symposium was held in Kigali, Rwanda, on 15-19 January 2007 and attended by heads of National Statistical Offices in Africa, heads of Census Offices in African NSOs, and regional and international organisations. Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General, and Ms. Sevgi Reçberoğlu, researcher represented the Centre thereat.

The symposium was the second of a series of anticipated 53 symposia aimed to encourage African countries and governments to improve the use of evidence-based decision making and plan population and housing censuses in a better way. Among the issues discussed were the reasons for the need for complete enumaration of population and housing cencuses in African countries, the roles and attitutes of statisticians and politicians in the process and how to finance the cencuses.

The Symposium provided an opportunity to review the progress achieved with regard to the resolutions adopted at previous symposia. A number of African countries also shared their experiences in the process of population census.

It was decided that the 2008 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development be held in Ghana.