The workshop is attended by participants from Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Timor Leste and Vanuatu.
The workshop which is being conducted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pacific Sub-Regional Office will last The REDATAM software was developed by the United Nations Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE) and is globally supported by the UNFPA.
The workshop is a result of requests received by UNFPA from Pacific Island Countries for assistance in deploying the REDATAM software with their new census data. UNFPA is being assisted by experts from CELADE in conducting this workshop.
In his welcoming remarks at the opening of the REDATAM workshop, Professor Biman Chand Prasad, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) at USP, said that USP is pleased to host the workshop in partnership with the UNFPA.
“FBE has developed a long-term sustainable partnership with UNFPA to engage in a number of projects to promote capacity building in the areas of official statistics, population and demographic issues in the region,” he added.
Professor Prasad also welcomed the two facilitators from the CELADE and said that he anticipates this to be the beginning of a close working partnership with CELADE.
He highlighted that FBE through the School of Economics is working with the UNFPA to improve capacity in the areas of official statistics and population issues by developing appropriate credit courses and short-term training courses for the public sector officials working in national statistical offices and ministries of planning and finance in the region.
