Sensitization Workshop on 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the First Ever Digital Census of Pakistan Lahore, December 28, 2021 (Tuesday) Second sensitization workshop of the series in connection with the forthcoming 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the first ever Digital Census in Pakistan, was organized by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics at University of the Punjab, Lahore. The one day workshop featured the sensitization of the researchers, academia, policy makers as well as the public, as it symbolizes the critical synergetic relationship that will exist between the PBS and the stakeholders throughout the gigantic national activity. The event covered Keynote speeches, Presentation on 7th Population and Housing Census 2022-First Ever Digital Census, discussion session between the stakeholders and PBS. Dr. Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of the Punjab, Lahore was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, Chief Statistician along with Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Focal Person on Digital Census, Dr. Amjad Javaid Sandhu, Census Commissioner, and other Directors/Senior Officers from PBS Islamabad and Lahore, along with Principal College of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, University of the Punjab and his team hosted the event. Mr. Sajid Rasul, Focal Person Punjab for Population Census and Director General Bureau of Statistics Punjab, representatives of various provincial departments, research institutions, universities, organizations, students, and many others attended the workshop. Dr. Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Pro Vice Chancellor, in his inaugural address, shed light on the value of Census and Population data in evidence-based decision making and appreciated the working of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics towards the initiation of the first ever digital census in Pakistan. Focal person on Digital Census, Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, in his presentation highlighted the recommendations of Census Advisory Committee for conduct of the 7th Population & Housing Census-2022. Moreover, he included that as per decision of CCI, PBS is going to conduct Census after five years interval, for the first time, with the use of latest tools and technologies by adopting the best international practices with the high aim to fetch improved quality of data. Geo tagging of each structure, tablet based and self-enumeration system will build trust of stakeholders. Further the questionnaire has been drafted by the technical committee to address the objectives of the census..All efforts have been made to address the issues identified in Population & Housing Census 2017. He emphasized that involvement of stakeholders will be prioritized by making census process comprehensive for wide acceptability of census results. During Q/A session, all queries of the participants were addressed related to Digitization process of Census 2022. Chief Statistician, Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, in his closing remarks appreciated the efforts of PBS team, working day and night for this National cause and hoped that they will work with same commitment to accomplish this task. The efforts of the Provincial Office of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Focal Person on Digital Census in Punjab, and Principal CSAS of the University of the Punjab were admired and acknowledged by the Chief Statistician for successfully organizing the sensitization workshop.

Sensitization Workshop on 7th Population and Housing Census, the First Ever Digital Census of Pakistan in Karachi, December 30, 2021 (Thursday) Third sensitization workshop of the series in connection with the forthcoming 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the first ever Digital Census of Pakistan, was organized by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics at Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. The one-day workshop featured the sensitization of researchers, academia, demographers, policy makers and general public about Population Census. Since awareness and cooperation of stakeholders and masses are the vital requirements for successful completion of this enormous national activity. Dr. Syed Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, Institute of Business Administration, Karachi was the Chief Guest. Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, Chief Statistician, Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Focal Person on Digital Census and other Directors/Senior Officers, from PBS Islamabad and Karachi, in collaboration with Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, hosted this event. The workshop was attended by Senior Officers, representatives of various provincial departments, research institutions, universities, organizations, students, and many others. Dr. Syed Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, in his address emphasized on importance of Census for Pakistan and especially for Karachi which is considered as mini Pakistan. He further added that Census is the pre requisite for development. Besides, Census data is also important for Researchers. He hoped that Digital data collection will address all the challenges of Census for current era. Focal person on Digital Census, Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, while highlighting the main features of Digital Census informed the audience that the upcoming census has been planned by keeping in view the recommendations of Census Advisory Committee for conduct of the 7th Population & Housing Census2022. The committee was formulated in the 45th session of CCI. He further added that as per decision of CCI, PBS is going to conduct Census after five years’ interval, for the first time, with the use of latest tools and technologies by adopting the best international practices with high aim to fetch improved quality of data. Geo tagging of each structure, tablet based and self-enumeration system will build trust of stakeholders in Census results. Further the questionnaire has been carefully drafted by the consent of technical committee including renowned demographers to address the objectives of the census. All efforts have been made to address the issues identified in Population & Housing Census 2017. He emphasized that involvement of all stakeholders will be prioritized by making census process comprehensive for wide acceptability of census results. During Question & Answer session, all queries of the participants relating to Digitization process of Census 2022 were addressed. Chief Statistician, Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, in his closing remarks appreciated the efforts of PBS team-working day and night for this National cause and hoped that they will work with same commitment to accomplish this task. He further assured that census will be conducted with consensus of all stakeholders and the whole process will be transparent. The efforts of the Provincial Office of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Focal Person on Digital Census, and Executive Director of the Institute of Business Administration were admired and acknowledged by the Chief Statistician for successfully organizing the sensitization workshop.

Sensitization Workshop on 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the First Ever Digital Census of Pakistan Quetta, January 3, 2022 (Monday) Fourth sensitization workshop of the series in connection with the forthcoming 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the first ever Digital Census in Pakistan, was organized by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics at Officer’s Club Quetta. The one-day workshop featured the sensitization of the researchers, academia, policy makers as well as the public, as it symbolizes the critical synergetic relationship that will exist between the PBS and the stakeholders throughout the gigantic national activity. The event covered Keynote speeches, Presentation on 7th Population and Housing Census 2022-First Ever Digital Census, discussion session between the stakeholders and PBS. Mr. Pasand Khan Buledi, Chairman Balochistan Revenue Authority, Quetta was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Focal Person on Digital Census, Ms. Rabia Awan, Director Census Project Management Unit along with other Directors/Senior Officers from PBS Islamabad and Quetta hosted the event. Mr. Pasand Khan Buledi, Chairman Balochistan Revenue Authority, Quetta in his inaugural address, congratulated PBS for organizing sensitization workshop on Population and Housing Census and appreciated the initiative of Census Awareness Workshops. He also highlighted the value of Census and Population data for providing baseline for development especially for developing countries like Pakistan. He shared his experiences being the Provincial Census Commissioner during 2017 and identified the issues and problem faced during census operation that were coordination, management of trainings, transportation and communication issues. He further added that proper representation of provincial government as nominated by respective government may be made in all committees constituted for conduct of census 2022 for aligning it with ground realities of the provinces. Focal person on Digital Census, Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, in his presentation highlighted the recommendations of Census Advisory Committee for conduct of the 7th Population & Housing Census-2022. Moreover, he informed audience that keeping in view the Prime Minister’s vision of digital Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has decided to conduct the next census digitally through tablets along with Geo tagging of every structure for real time monitoring, complete coverage and quality data. As per decision of CCI, PBS is going to conduct Census after five years interval, for the first time, with the use of latest tools and technologies by adopting the best international practices with the high aim to fetch improved quality of data. Further the questionnaire has been drafted by the technical committee to address the objectives of the census. All efforts have been made to address the issues identified in Population & Housing Census 2017. He emphasized that involvement of stakeholders will be prioritized by making census process comprehensive for wide acceptability of census results. During Q/A session, all queries of the participants were addressed related to Digitization process of Census 2022. Prof. Dr. syed Muhammad Arif, Member, Governing Council, PBS in his closing remarks urged audience to own this activity and contribute sincerely for its successful completion. He appreciated the efforts of PBS team and hoped that they will work with same commitment to accomplish this task. He highlighted the importance of census data and informed the audience that Census data is important for improvement in following areas: Research, Employment, Economic Planning, Demography, and Representation in legislation, Income distribution, poverty alleviation, Revenue collection, Education, Population density and Health care etc. The efforts of the Provincial Office of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and Focal Person on Digital Census in Quetta were admired and acknowledged by the Member, Governing Council, and PBS for successfully organizing the sensitization workshop.

PBS in way of sensitizing its stakeholders on 1st Digital Population and Housing census 2022 of Pakistan Jan 5th 2022 -after successful Sensitization workshops in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, PBS hosted its 5th workshop of the series in Peshawar at Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Auditorium, University of Peshawar. In order to spread awareness among the, analyzers, scholastics, intellectuals and General public to avoid the credibility gap, which was faced in 6th population and Housing Census. Ms. Rabia Awan Director PBS introduced PBS, Population Census and Digital transformation of Census in lines with Digitization policy of Government of Pakistan. She highlighted the importance of data for researchers and explained how PBS is facilitating it through user friendly Data Dissemination Dashboards. Worthy Chief Guest, Vice Chancellor, Dr. Muhammad Idrees, University of Peshawar, in his inaugural speech appreciated Government of Pakistan and PBS for their innovation in the conservative trends of census. He informed participants that policy making is not possible without credible data as it provides basis for research. Digital Census is need of the time; it will bring transparency in the process. He considered involvement of stakeholder as an appreciable step. He offered full support in this gigantic national cause. Member (SS, PBS) and Focal person on Digital Census, Mr Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, in his presentation on 7th Population Housing Census –First digital census of Pakistan discussed about the techniques and technologies used in the 7th Census. He appraised the audience about the process adopted for Census recommendations. The areas that were mainly focused were Forensic Audit of previous processes adopted in Census 2017, press clipping and articles reviews, keen observation of concerns and issues of all stakeholders, study of UN principles and comparative study of world’s best practices. He further emphasized that in 7th population census, electronic, print & social media will be used as an important component to involve the stake holders and general public in the census process as stakeholders will be prioritized, for wide acceptability of census results In digital census, the technologies introduced are Geo tagging and Self-enumeration system for effective and efficient census process. Moreover, he included that for the first time PBS is conducting Census after five years interval, as per decision of CCI. Further the questionnaire has been drafted by the technical committee including Demographers. Digitization and Census process related queries were addressed in Q/A session by PBS. Member, Governing Council PBS, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal emphasized on importance of Census for individuals. He appreciated the presence of representatives of different departments of University. He hoped that the audience present in workshop will spread the message of PBS as it is a National Cause. He hoped that PBS will not face hurdles in smooth execution of this huge exercise. Series of Sensitization workshops is an effort of PBS for appraising the census process among the masses, to avoid the trust deficit by engaging academia/universities, researchers, demographers, data users, NGOs and other stakeholders.

Sensitization Workshop on 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the First Ever Digital Census of Pakistan Muzaffarabad (AJ&K), January 10, 2022 (Monday) Sixth sensitization workshop of the series in connection with the forthcoming 7th Population and Housing Census 2022, the first ever Digital Census in Pakistan, was organized by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics at University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Chella Campus, Muzaffarabad. The one-day workshop featured the sensitization of the researchers, academia, policy makers as well as the public, as it symbolizes the critical synergetic relationship that will exist between the PBS and the stakeholders throughout the gigantic national activity. The event covered Keynote speeches, Presentation on 7th Population and Housing Census 2022-First Ever Digital Census, discussion session between the stakeholders and PBS. Prof. Dr. M. Kaleem Abbasi, Vice Chancellor, University of AJ&K was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Mr. Ayazudin, Member Census & Survey, Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Member Support Services PBS, Ms. Rabia Awan, Director Census Project Management Unit along with other Directors/Senior Officers from PBS Islamabad and Muzaffarabad AJ&K hosted the event. Prof. Dr. M. Kaleem Abbasi, Vice Chancellor, University of AJ&K in his inaugural address, congratulated PBS for organizing sensitization workshop on Population and Housing Census and appreciated the initiative of Census Awareness Workshops. Member Support Services PBS, Mr. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, in his comprehensive presentation highlighted the recommendations of Census Advisory Committee for conduct of the 7th Population & Housing Census-2022. Further, he informed audience that Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has decided to conduct the next census digitally through tablets along with Geo tagging of every structure for real time monitoring, complete coverage and quality data. This initiative is in lines with Prime Minister’s vision of Digital Pakistan. After decision of CCI, this time PBS is going to conduct Census only after five years’ intervals for the first time. To improve the data quality and acceptability of census results PBS is going to use latest tools and technologies and adopting the best international practices. Further the questionnaire has been drafted by the technical committee to address the objectives of the census. All the above mentioned efforts have been made to address the issues identified in Population & Housing Census 2017. He emphasized that this workshop is important for involvement of stakeholders specially Government organizations, researchers and data users from planning stage. The liaison with stakeholders will be continued till finalization of result and Data Dissemination stage. Mrs. Midhat Shahzad, Secretary Information and Technology, AJK, appreciated the initiative of digital census 2022. She said that census data is of significant importance for researcher and experts. She further added that Data mining tools and technologies should be used to explore census data. Ms. Taqdees Gillani MLA Parliamentary Secretary for Primary Secondary Elementary and Higher Education in her address appreciated the efforts of PBS team. She assured all possible cooperation from her department. During Q/A session, all queries of the participants related to Digitization process of Census 2022 were addressed. Mr. Akram Sohail, formal Secretary of AJ&K in his closing remarks appreciated the efforts of PBS and hoped that they will work with dedication to accomplish the gigantic task of Digital Census. Further, he admired the efforts of the Provincial Office of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and Member Support Services PBS for successfully organizing the sensitization workshop.