The CARICOM Secretariat Census Unit is about to implement two (2) very important activities in its efforts to build/strengthen capacity to make more meaningful use of census data collected in the 2000 round of Population and Housing Censuses (PHC). On June 29 and 30, the Writers of the National Census Reports for the eighteen (18) participating Member States  will meet in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to discuss the progress of the drafting of these reports.

It is expected that most of the reports will be completed by the end of July 2006,  and  firm deadlines for their completion will be agreed at the Port of Spain meeting. The two day meeting will also offer the opportunity to document the challenges and successes, as well as experiences gained, in undertaking the preparation of these national reports. This documentation will be of paramount importance for the 2010 round of PHC.

The second activity is the conduct of a six-week Regional Demographic Analysis Workshop. This Workshop has been dubbed the ‘flagship’ of the census project, since it is one of the most tangible ways of building capacity in the area of Demographic Analysis.

The workshop will run from July 3 to August 11, 2006, and will train a minimum of eighteen (18) members of staff from statistical offices across the Region. Resource personnel are from the University of the West Indies, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the UNECLAC Offices in Trinidad and Tobago and Chile.

Both activities are included in the current Work Plan of the Census 2000 analysis sub-project under the CARICOM Capacity Development Project (CCDP). The CCDP is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).