The training activity, requested by OECS member states, comes on the heels of the recently signed OECS/UNFPA memorandum of understanding, which recognises specific linkages between the mandates of the respective organisations and is designed to further strengthen those ties through collaboration on population programmes, including demographic data collection and analysis, reproductive health and gender.

Sean Curtis Mathurin of the OECS Secretariat said, “The workshop is intended to provide participants with a better understanding of the census databases expected to be developed by OECS countries in 2011/2012, assist with addressing data processing challenges, and contribute to developing a plan for the way forward in this area.”

This workshop complements an earlier training activity held in November 2010 by building further on the skills and knowledge of OECS statisticians in data editing techniques and procedures. OECS countries were expected to work over the past year on their preliminary data editing manuals and programs and should now have questions and queries based on their application.

Mathurin said the workshop will also incorporate tabulation procedures and techniques, with a view to catering to specific tabulation needs of participating countries. CSPro Software and its applications will be used as the database processing package.

“The workshop is expected to contribute to the successful processing of census data in preparation for its tabulation, which is a vital step in the successful implementation of the OECS Population and Housing Censuses in 2011, and the production of comparable data useful for policy and decision making, as the OECS Member States continue the implementation of Economic Union,” he said.

This activity is being held as part of ongoing technical assistance to the OECS by the UNFPA, in support of the 2011 OECS Population and Housing Censuses, and is in direct response to OECS member states that have requested technical support in the editing aspects of census data processing.