NPC getting ready for 2022 census, organises Workshop.

© NPC getting ready for 2022 census, organises Workshop.
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Chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC Nasir Isa Kwarra believes that the knowledge and skills to be acquired at the workshop being put together by the Commission will place officers of the NPC in a key position to function effectively during the 2022 Census.

The capacity building workshop for public affairs officers on the strategic direction of the NPC, which is slated for five days, was declared open today in Mararaba, Nasarawa state by the Commission's Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra. Kwarra, while declaring open the capacity building workshop for the staff of the Public Affairs Department of the Commission with the theme: 'Getting the People involved', quoted the United States of America's former President, Ronald Reagan as saying, 'information is the oxygen of the modern age', stated that "information is power and its possession and proper dissemination make all the difference in the attainment of individual aspirations or organisational goals. "An organisation that strives to achieve success must be in a position to constantly convey information to all its stakeholders in order to secure their cooperation and support. For a people-oriented organisation like the National Population Commission, constant and effective engagement of the people through aggressive publicity and advocacy is a crucial first step it must take in the attainment of its mandate".

He therefore urged the participants drawn from its offices across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to familiarise themselves with the technical processes of the conduct of the census and other activities of the Commission so as to be able to forge the much needed national consensus and handle any bias or prejudice arising from the outcome of the exercise. "The world is in a digital age. Information through the conventional method is fast giving way to online and interactive dissemination through computers and other mobile devices. This raises enormous challenges to the Public Affairs Officers in terms of acquiring the necessary skills and orientation to disseminate information in digital form. It is my hope that this workshop will sensitise participants on the use of the social and new media", Nasir Isa Kwarra told the participants yesterday at the opening of the five-day workshop. He emphatically told the participants that the Commission is devoted to "training and re-training of members of staff with the belief that this will help the Commission in the effective delivery of its mandate. "It is therefore gratifying to note that this workshop has been put together to energise the information machinery of the Commission. The aim of the workshop is to ensure broad based national support and cooperation for the implementation of the activities of the National Population Commission, especially the coming census 2022", he pointed out.

According to him, the workshop is expected to enhance the understanding of the Public Affairs officers at the Headquarters and State offices on the strategic direction of the present Commission and their expected roles; to identify critical stakeholders in the implementation of the Commission's activities and devise effective strategies for their engagement and to improve the technical competence and skills of the public affairs department, PAD officers in handling basic advocacy and media relations. The NPC chairman added that, "constant dissemination of the right and timely information and effective engagement of stakeholders through advocacy constitute an integral and indispensable component of population intervention activities. It is like the lubricant for the successful implementation of our mandate in the spheres of census, vital registration, population management, conduct of specialised surveys and mapping", he said and pointed out that information and advocacy not only mobilises the people on these activities but also help to clarify possible misrepresentation and misperception that are bound to occur in the process.

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