Journalists trained on confidentiality of information, key aspects of the decennial population count
BUTWAL/October 3: Media Action Nepal (MAN), in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and with support from UNFPA Nepal and UK Aid, organized a provincial level media-sensitization workshop in Butwal on October 2. The workshop gave journalists an opportunity to learn about the census, confidentiality of information collected, public hesitancy, and enumeration of people living abroad including other key aspects of the decennial population count.
Speaking in the program, MAN Chairperson Laxman Datt Pant stressed the need for media personnel to understand the technical aspects of the census to disseminate correct information to the public. “Census collects very minute data that plays a crucial role in national policymaking. That is why its information needs to be communicated properly to the government and the citizens and that is why journalists need to know the process,” he said.
Census collects very minute data that plays a crucial role in national policymaking. That is why its information needs to be communicated properly to the government and the citizens and that is why journalists need to know the process
Dhundi Raj Lamichhane, Director and Spokesperson of CBS, underlined the importance of this census as the first one being conducted under the federal structure of the country and the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the need for extensive discussions to help stakeholders understand the data generated by the national census.
CBS Director Keshav Gautam informed the participants about what the national census actually was and shared its slogan ‘My Census, My Participation.’ Ram Thapa, Lumbini Province Coordinator of UNFPA, stated that the census would help the government in drafting plans by not only generating numerical data but also analytical information.
Samjhana Bhandari from the women and children division of Tilottama Municipality; Ram Raj Pokharel, Rupandehi President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists and Krishna Raj Pandey, Census Officer at the Lumbini Census Office, talked about the importance of the census and the need for the media to cover it sensitively and accurately.
MAN Executive Committee Member Yam Bahadur Dura briefed the participating journalists about ways to identify and prevent misinformation. He also informed everyone about disinformation, mal-information and other types of misleading information and presented the concept of the echo chamber.
A total of 26 journalists including 14 women from Arghakhanchi, Parasi, Palpa, Kapilvastu and Rupandehi districts of Lumbini province attended the workshop moderated by MAN Lumbini Province Coordinator Sanju Paudel. The next similar workshop is taking place in Janakpur of Province 2 on October 6.