Journalists sensitized on census reporting, factual information
POKHARA/September 29: Media Action Nepal (MAN), in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and with the support of UNFPA Nepal and UK Aid, conducted a one-day long province level media sensitization workshop on National Housing and Population Census 2021 in Pokhara on September 28.
The workshop attended by a total of 26 journalists including 14 women from Kaski, Tanahun, Lamjung, Gorkha and Syangja districts of Gandaki province of Nepal, was a part of eight media sensitization workshops planned at province and federal levels.
Speaking during the inaugural session, MAN Chairperson Laxman Datt Pant said that the workshop was organized keeping in view the situation where accurate information could not be disseminated in the media without good knowledge about the technical issues of the census. “As the census is conducted over a period of a decade, factual information about its technical and diversity issues will not come out without understanding the census process,” Pant added.
CBS Director General Nebin Lal Shrestha remarked that this census was more important than the census of other years because it is the first census after Nepal adopted federal system. Also, it is taking place amid pandemic. The census awareness program is aimed at ensuring ‘no one is left behind,’ he added. Shrestha expressed confidence that the program would help in providing accurate information about the census to the general Nepali population.
Bishnumaya Poudel, Chief of Women and Children’s Division at Pokhara Metropolitan City said that everyone should help as it is an important task of the nation. She added that all should be included by publishing the fragmented statistics of the deprived communities in the society.
Jamuna Barsha Sharma, vice-president of the Kaski branch of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, urged to pay special attention to the basics of obtaining reliable data as the overall situation of the country will be analyzed from the census. UNFPA Nepal’s Bijay Thapa said that UNFPA has been assisting in areas including resource mobilization, data publication and other aspects of the census.
Jaggu Lal Basyal, head of the Statistics Office, Kaski, said that the census was not only a census of the citizens of the nation but also a census of economic, social, cultural and demographic aspects. Basyal said that the role of journalists would be important to inform the citizens by disseminating truthful and factual information.
The role of journalists would be important to inform the citizens by disseminating truthful and factual information about the census.
The inaugural session was moderated by Sunita Acharya, Gandaki Province Coordinator of Media Action Nepal (MAN).
During the workshop, Director General Shrestha made a presentation on the concept, history, importance of the census, the data obtained from it, legal provisions, institutional arrangements, coordination committee, questionnaire, and how to keep a person’s information confidential during the census. Similarly, MAN Chairperson Pant made a presentation on the current scenario of information flow and the role journalists could play to create awareness about the census.
Director and Spokesperson of CBS Dhundi Raj Lamichhane made a presentation on the aspects of census and diversity in Nepal, whereas Yam Bahadur Dura, MAN Executive Committee Member made a presentation on identifying and preventing census related misleading information.
The participants of the workshop interacted with the resource persons and sought responses on issues including confidentiality of personal details provided for the census, questionnaire and protection of diversity.