From September 19 to 26, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) will receive, in five states, representatives of statistics institutes and international organizations from 19 countries to participate in the "Observa Censo 2022" (2022 Census Observation). It is an initiative to foster transparency and sharing of experiences, methodologies, new technologies and good practices in general that the IBGE has been developing over the years and which was implemented in the 2022 Population Census.

The coming of international observers results from a partnership of the IBGE with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), linked to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other bodies also participate as observers, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissariat for Refugees (ACNUR), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE), of CEPAL.

“Through Census Observation, the IBGE keeps its South-to-South cooperation tradition, now innovating with its real time update, as collection takes place. The exchange allows countries to keep track not only of the innovation proposed for the 2022 Census operation, but also of the difficulties faces on a daily basis in the field”, says IBGE president Eduardo Rios Neto. “I thank the partners who made this event viable, with a highlight to the ABC Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UNFPA and ILO”, he adds.

Census Observation has already undergone two initial steps which took place virtually (informative and technical seminars). From September 19 to 23, there will be a second phase, in the field, when foreign visitors will split to visit either Recife (PE), Belo Horizonte (MG), Cabo Frio (RJ) or Florianópolis (SC). The representatives of international bodies will be in Boa Vista and Pacaraima (PR). Translators and interpreters will join the team to facilitate the communication between observers and field personnel.
The end of Census Observation will be on September 26 in Rio de Janeiro, with an in-person seminar, where observers will be able to share their experiences and impressions on the work carried out during the visits.

In the in-person phase in the five cities that will be visited, observers will wear the enumerator’s uniform (vest, badge, cap and bag), and will watch the survey routine, the phases each agent goes through to register the households and persons, the questionnaire administration, the visits to the surroundings, how to break refusals, etc.
Then, observers will watch the work of supervisors. Among the activities are re-interviewing, checking of random housing units selected by the system, verification of reports and closing of enumeration areas.

What they’ve been saying…

Astrid Bant - Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Brazil: “The United Nations Population Fund is proud of its long-term partnership with the ABC and the IBGE in initiatives of South-South Cooperation. We have already developed several projects related to the carrying out of censuses and demographic surveys with other countries, mainly Latin America and Africa. This is another opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences among countries, strengthening ties and technical capabilities. The 2022 Census is fundamental in the demographic data generation process to the understanding of several aspects of the Brazilian population, as age, gender, geographic distribution, among many others."

Junia Quiroga - Auxiliary Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Brazil: “The partnership of the UN Population Fund with the IBGE, the ABC and ILO to facilitate the coming of international observers to get to know and follow in loco part of the enumeration process undertaken in Brazil is another well-succeeded example of South-South Cooperation in Brazil. This year, in addition to international observers, we also highlight the inclusion of the “Quilombola” classification in the race/ethnicity criterion, which improves the understanding of the country’s diversity and favors the design of more effective pubic policies."

Martin Georg Hahn, Head of the ILO Office in Brazil: “It is with great satisfaction that the International Labor Organization participates in this importation initiative side by side with Brazil and UNFPA. It is a historical moment, as the Census takes place every ten years. There is a great international interest in this Brazilian experience, and the fact that Brazil is receiving more that 20 countries in the Census Observation is an evidence of that.  The IBGE and ILO have  long-term partnership producing Knowledge and, for instance, in the last Census, we carried out a joint work compiling indicators of decent work in the municipal, state and national spheres. Those indicators are fundamental to support the process of public policy design in the country. Many of those policies are the object of the Brazil-ILO South-South Cooperation Program and have been shared with other countries, as it is the case of the work developed in the scope of the Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour.”