The Reference Centers Project - Electronic Data Collection, in its Phase II, is conducting a technical training program from October 20th to 31st for civil servants of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) of Mozambique, on the digitalization of its Population and Housing Census. The initiative is coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA Brazil). The National Agency of Demography and Statistics of Senegal (ANSD) and the National Institute of Statistics of Cape Verde (INECV) are responsible for developing the training.

The opening ceremony was initiated by the President of the NSO of Mozambique, Mónica Magaua, and included interventions from the Head of the Information Technology Division of ANSD, Bourama Mané; the IT Technician from INECV, João Baptista de Pina; the Advisor to the General Coordination of Census Operations at IBGE, Luciana Prazeres; and the Project Analyst from ABC, João Luiz Clementino. The ceremony was chaired by the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Mozambique, Walter Mendonça Filho.

In her speech, Mónica Magaua, President of INE of Mozambique, highlighted today's date as World Statistics Day, emphasizing its origin and importance for institutions dedicated to the field. She thanked the Reference Centers initiative and was glad that the NSO of Mozambique could receive this training, in recognition of its relevance to a well-succeeded Census operation.

The Head of the Information Technology Division of ANSD, Bourama Mané, provided a historical overview of the emergence of the Reference Centers, highlighting the role of the former presidents of ANSD, IBGE, and INECV making them real. He also emphasized that bilateral cooperation between these countries was a determining factor in the evolution and consolidation of the initiative.

The IT Technician from the INECV, João Baptista de Pina, also highlighted the value of South-South cooperation between the three countries and the support received from IBGE to conduct a fully digital census. He stated that electronic data collection in an operation as complex as the Census constitutes a major challenge, requiring specialized preparation in various digital fields. He stressed that the advantages of the methodology far outweigh the disadvantages and pointed out that, during the training, the Cape Verde team is ready to share experiences with the Mozambican team.

In her speech, the Advisor to the General Coordination of Census Operations at IBGE, Luciana Prazeres, emphasized the willingness that the NSO of Mozambique demonstrated to receive the training and to exchange knowledge. The IBGE representative then outlined the history of the interactions to date: from the first phase of the Reference Centers project, when IBGE systematized and shared its digital census methodology with Cape Verde's INE and Senegal's ANSD, to the completion of the second phase and the new round of experience sharing, now with more countries that will conduct their censuses digitally.

The Project Analyst at ABC, João Luiz Clementino, addressed the role of the Brazilian Agency in executing the project and reinforced the importance of the South-South cooperation guidelines. “Today we are gathered here, within the scope of the Reference Centers Project, with a highly qualified team of specialists, for a horizontal exchange of knowledge with the technicians of the National Statistical Office of Mozambique. This is the spirit of South-South cooperation. I hope that we can make the most of this moment, with our institutions made stronger and new capacities developed.”

Following the opening session, the presentations began, starting with the topic “Brazilian South-South Cooperation and the Brazil-UNFPA Program,” presented by the Project Analyst at ABC, João Luiz Clementino. Next, the UNFPA Brazil representative presented the topic “Reference Centers Project – Phases I and II”.

The INECV, represented by Technician Adilson Varela, presented the First Module of the Training: Census Methodology – Personnel Training for Electronic Data Collection. On this occasion, he presented all the phases of the Census, the methodologies developed, and the organization of the training. The same topic was addressed by the Head of the Information Technology Division of the Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie du Sénégal - ANSD, Bourama Mané, who presented the experience of Senegal.

This training program will cover several modules, namely: Census Cartography Applied to Electronic Data Collection; Architecture, Infrastructure and Information Security; Application and Electronic Questionnaire Development; Security, Centralization and Anonymization of Census Data; Use Case – Practical Demonstration; Communication and Public Awareness; Data Dissemination; and Transition from Paper to Electronic Data Collection: Lessons Learned.

The project "Reference Centers in Censuses with Electronic Data Collection in Africa – Phase II" is part of the Brazil-UNFPA Partnership Program for the Promotion of South-South Cooperation, launched in January 2023. The objective is to expand the impact of the first phase of the project and engage new countries and strategic partners in the development and sharing of technologies for electronic data collection, improving the production of quality statistics in Africa.

Adaptation of the news from the NSO of Mozambique available from: https://ine.gov.mz/web/guest/b/mocambique-acolhe-seminario-de-capacitacao-tecnica-sobre-a-metodologia-de-recolha-digital-de-dados-1