by Jason Bremner, program director, Population, Health, and Environment
My mind is often flooded with indicators: population size, percent of the population living on less than a dollar per day, landholdings per household, average family size, and unmet need for family planning are a few that often float around in my head. Statistical research, however, never replaces the wealth of insight that can be gained through visiting communities, talking to people, and connecting faces and stories with indicators, results, and statistical associations.
During this field visit I came to the realization that a field visit is probably as intimate a communications opportunity as a project can have. People aren’t reading a one-pager or watching your perfectly crafted video. They’re actually there, talking with project staff, listening to beneficiaries, and seeing your efforts with their own eyes. Will you ever have a more captive audience? Probably not. Thus, while visiting the projects and talking with community members, I was constantly reflecting on the process itself, and this set of visits presented a whole spectrum of different experiences to reflect upon. So here are a few of my initial quick thoughts on field trip best practices.
Attending a large professional conference serves several purposes for demographers: It is a place to trade ideas with peers working on similar problems and with similar data; it offers a window into interesting projects outside the often narrow focus of one’s own specialty; it encourages us to ponder big, complicated issues, like climate change; and it provides an opportunity to catch up with old friends and colleagues and to meet new ones. Despite long days in stuffy, windowless meeting rooms, attending a conference can be energizing, reminding us why we went into the field in the first place and giving us fresh ideas about how to approach our work.
The IUSSP conference occurs only every four years and is probably the largest international gathering of population scientists. We asked a diverse group of population scientists attending the 2009 IUSSP meetings in Marrakech what they will take away from the experience and what they see as important emerging issues in their field.
This video features:
Ragui Assaad is a professor at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He recently returned to the university from Cairo, where he served as the regional director for West Asia and North Africa for the Population Council. Ragui has written numerous publications, including a PRB policy brief on the MENA youth bulge. He hosted one of PRB’s Discuss Online sessions on the topic in 2008.
Joel E. Cohen is Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Populations at Rockefeller University. He heads the Laboratory of Populations at both Rockefeller and Columbia universities. Joel’s research deals mainly with demography, ecology, population genetics, epidemiology, and social organization of human and nonhuman populations, and with mathematical concepts useful in these fields. He is the author of numerous works on these subjects, including the seminal work, How Many People Can the Earth Support? He currently serves on the board of Trustees for PRB.
John F. May is a demographer at the World Bank who tracks population and health trends in sub-Saharan Africa. He recently published the study “Capturing Ethiopia’s Demographic Bonus.” Before joining the World Bank in 1997, John worked on population projects around the world for the UN Population Fund, UNICEF, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the IUSSP, and the Futures Group International. John was a visiting scholar at PRB in 1991-1992 and again in 2005-2006.
Lori Hunter is a professor of sociology and environmental studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and editor-in-chief of the journal Population and Environment. She is part of an ongoing project investigating the links between the environment and HIV/AIDS for people living in specific rural areas of South Africa. Her research interests embrace many aspects of environment, health, and population dynamics, including the public perception of environmental issues and environmental inequality. Lori spent September 2006 to April 2007 at PRB as a Population-Health-Environment Bixby Fellow. During this time, she contributed several articles to our website.
Those of us at PRB who attended this year’s IUSSP International Population Conference had an enlightening, exciting, and wonderful time in Marrakesh. We also had a first-hand lesson in what happens when local political realities meet international population data gathering and reporting.
Sunday morning of the conference brought a shock to us. Representatives of the host government of Morocco had removed all the publications from PRB’s exhibit booth because two of our data sheets included estimates for Western Sahara, the focus of territorial dispute for decades. The Moroccan government considers Western Sahara part of the Kingdom of Morocco. Other organizations’ materials were also removed for the same reason. We retrieved our publications after agreeing not to distribute publications with the Western Sahara estimates.
But the World Population Data sheet is our most well-known publication, and many visitors to our booth asked for it expressly. In the end we did distribute the data sheets with the Western Sahara lined blacked out so that these unique resources could eventually be posted on office and classroom walls around the world. Many participants also took our CD-ROM containing more than 80 recent datasheets and publications in English, with many also in French, Spanish, or Arabic.
In the end, the important thing is that participants from NGOs and academia were able to get our publications with our objective data and analysis, while we also respected the wishes of the host government.
I’m enjoying this week immensely. Of approximately 904 scientific papers or panel presentations and 856 poster presentations, I’ve personally experienced only a small number. Of the 2,700 participants from scores of countries, though, I’ve been fortunate to talk with a great many—old friends and new, visitors at our PRB booth, chance encounters in the halls, and yes, the souks.
Seven PRB staff, three senior fellows, and five members of our Board of Trustees are here in Marrakech:
PRB staff: Jason Bremner, program director, Population, Health and Environment; Nadwa Mossaad, research associate, Domestic Programs; Nazy Roudi, program director, Middle East and North Africa; Fariyal Fikree, senior program director, Global Health; Mary Kent, senior demographic editor; and Bill Butz, president.
Fellows: Tom Merrick, Elaine Murphy, Charlie Teller.
Trustees: Wendy Baldwin, The Population Council; Wolfgang Lutz, Vienna Institute of Demography; Joel Cohen, Rockefeller University; Leela Visaria, independent researcher; and Martin Vaessen, ICF Macro.
This conference is a prime opportunity to stay abreast of the science in our fields and to contribute to it. You’ll be reading—and hearing—some of the results on the PRB website in coming weeks. (And for a fascinating look back at 50 years of IUSSP conferences—how the topics, authors, and regions have changed—see From Vienna to Marrakech: 50 years of Independent IUSSP Conferences, 1959-2009 from the Vienna Institute of Demography).
For several days before the main conference, I participated in a workshop convened by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in collaboration with four European Research Councils: Economic and Social Research Council (UK), Research Council of Norway, Equilibres et Populations (France), and WROTO (Netherlands). Together with African experts, communication specialists, and other funders such as USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we considered how to communicate complex research to African policymakers in the context of an ambitious international program of economic and demographic research just now beginning to produce its first results. We moved at a fast clip. The results are a practical blueprint for action as the scientific findings come on line.
These meeting are beautifully organized and the host government and the King have been gracious and generous. Marrakech is lovely and fascinating, and the scientific enterprise regarding population in its many contexts is vibrant.
by Nadwa Mossaad, research associate, Domestic Programs
Yesterday marked the opening ceremony of the 26th International Union for the Study of Population (IUSSP) in the ancient red city of Marrakech, located in the center of Morocco bordering the Sahara desert on the foot of the Atlas Mountains.
The opening ceremony was impressive, with over 2,300 participants from more than 100 countries — the largest ever in the history of IUSSP. The ceremony was marked by speeches from the International Organizing Committee’s president Ahmed lahlimi Alami, IUSSP president John Cleland, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid, former director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for the Arab States Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, and finally from his Majesty the King of Morocco, all highlighting the importance of demographic research in alleviating poverty, increasing education, and advancing women’s rights and human development while paying close attention to the environment and climate change.
The meeting’s theme is as varied as the history, culture, and demography of the people of the host country this year. The discussions and presentations will range from the usual to the new and groundbreaking to the controversial, but the general sense is to discuss the challenges facing the world today and the upcoming decade, and to explore the renewed commitment of many stakeholders to appropriately address the issues.
So, it was wonderful to see many of my friends whom I found over the years in different international conferences: a Palestinian woman I first met in India, a Lebanese whom I first met in Egypt, a Sudanese I met in Jordan, and a Saudi I met in Tours, France, where the previous IUSSP conference was held four years ago.
The first international conference I attended was in Amman, Jordan in 1993. It was the preparatory meeting of Arab region for the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) that was going to be held in Cairo the following year. The international population conference, a decennial event organized by UNFPA, was held in Cairo in September 1994 and attended by high-level policymakers from 179 countries. As a side meeting, there was a gathering of nongovernmental organizations from around the world, as a way of influencing the high-level policymaking at ICPD.
Today, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid was among the keynote speakers. And again, it is the first time that such a high-level official from UNFPA attended this international conference, which traditionally has been a gathering of academics. There are good reasons for Thoraya Obaid to be here. This year is the 15th anniversary of the Cairo Conference and the fact that the Executive Director is from the region (Saudi Arabia) can explain her participation and support for this conference. But more importantly, such a partnership between UNFPA, the highest policymaking body on population issues at the global level and IUSSP, the largest scientific body for the study of population, is very much welcomed.
On August 12, PRB launched the annual World Population Data Sheetand accompanying Population Bulletin in Washington, DC, highlighting country, regional, and global population, health, and environment data and patterns. This year’s data sheet places special emphasis on youth.
The share of world’s youth population is growing in Africa and shrinking in More Developed Countries (MDCs). In 1950, 9 percent of the world’s youth lived in Africa and 30 percent lived in MDCs (Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan). By 2050, that share will change to 29 percent in Africa and 11 percent in the MDCs. “The great bulk of today’s 1.2 billion youth—nearly 90 percent—are in developing countries,” said Carl Haub, PRB senior demographer and co-author of the data sheet. Eight in 10 of those youth live in Africa and Asia. “During the next few decades, these young people will most likely continue the current trend of moving from rural areas to cities in search of education and training opportunities, gainful employment, and adequate health care.” With the right investments in health, education, agricutlural develomment, and entrepreneurship, a large youth population can be an opportunity for development and change. However, these investments are not being made in many countries. The fundamental question facing many developing countries is whether the needs of their large youth populations will be met. The answer to this question will largely determine the development, stability, and future of developing countries.
The data sheet shows just how stark the contrasts are between rich and poor countries in terms of population growth, life expectancy, income, and other indicators. Stay tuned for a webcast on prb.org of the data sheet launch at the National Press Club over the next week.
We welcome your comments, input, questions on our findings and the implications of this on the world’s future.
Here are just a few stories on the data sheet launch from around the world:
by Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs,program director, Gender
Last week, I visited ground zero of hope and it wasn’t in Washington, London, or Geneva. It was 60 kilometers outside of Nairobi, in a small town called Kajiado.
With 15 journalists in a workshop funded by USAID and organized by PRB, I went to the AIC Girls’ Primary School and Rescue Center and although we were hot, dusty, and grumpy from the traffic jams and rough roads when we arrived, we left hopeful and inspired.
While we were there we heard from the headmaster, Nicholas Muniu, and a dedicated staff member named Catherine that change is happening: that girls named Emily and Beatrice were among the girls who had come to the school escaping from certain early marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM); that among the 706 girls now at the school, 217 were rescued from early marriage and FGM; that some were brought by uncles, fathers, and mothers who wanted something better for these daughters. Even more amazing, many came by themselves.
The school began in 1959 with 20 girls and now has more than 700, with a waiting list of girls who want to come. While some of the girls were only rescued after they had already been subjected to FGM or early marriages, the school is now rescuing many before this happens. While the school was formerly viewed with suspicion—and even met with spear-carrying husbands and fathers—the school is gaining respect quickly. The graduates of Kajiado graduate with top academic skills, according to headmaster Muniu. And more importantly, the thinking among chiefs in the region has changed dramatically. “Chiefs now accept that educating girls is more important than getting two cows for them in early marriages,” Muniu says.
It quickly becomes apparent that the school, which runs through grade 8, is more than a shelter for these girls, it’s a doorway to a brighter future. While customs and laws change slowly in this part of the world, these girls quickly grasp that they can be anything they want. They study hard, they live without many of the amenities expected in the West, they sometimes say goodbye forever to families who would force them to undergo old customs and harmful traditional practices. But they have dreams, these girls. When asked what they want to be, they answer doctors and lawyers and pilots. Though they may never have been on an airplane, I know that some day they will be. For this school has given them wings to fly.
by Yordanos Goushe, senior reporter, Ethiopia Radio TV Agency
The most effective way of saving young girls from FGM, rape, and early marriage is strengthening the optional center of care that functions within the society. Women in the society remain the vanguard to take actions against the impairing conditions for young girls through a most supporting structure.
On Saturday, April 25, 2009 we Women’s Edition journalists visited the Kajiado AIC Rescue Center, a center that was created by people who were committed to educating young girls. The girls in the center have stories to tell about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early marriage, and rape. These stories make you wonder how such things are done by a parent to his/her own offspring in the name of culture. However, there are also beautiful and rare stories of hope. If we ask the young girls in the rescue center, they will tell us they want to be a lawyer, politician, public figure, and a journalist.
Taking these and other difficulties of Kajiado girls into consideration, the AIC Rescue Center has taken the step of working with the chiefs, fathers, and mothers of the community. Now the chiefs are protecting the young girls who go back to their community for school break and fathers are bringing their daughters before the cutting is done to them.
The AIC Rescue Center receives girls from all over Kenya, some travelling a long distance after being the victims of rape, others running away from home because they do not want to be cut. The center provides good education, food, and shelter for these young girls who have seen a lot at an early age. The center receives all of them with an open hand even if it has limited capacity; there is always room for one more young girl who comes to the rescue center to have another chance in life.
There is a very important message which comes across from the AIC Rescue Center: there are young girls who are saying “no” to the cultural barriers in their communities and these girls need help, so it’s our duty to help them find a solution.
PRB is carrying out three workshops on family planning for West African journalists between January and June of this year. The first workshop, held in Dakar in January, was for 16 print and broadcast journalists; the second, with 19 participants, took place in Ouagadougou in April; and the third workshop will be in Bamako in May. These workshops somewhat resemble a family reunion. They bring together print and broadcast journalists from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal that PRB has worked with for more than a decade. Back in the mid-1990s, many of the editors-in-chief of the current crop of participants were already senior journalists and were part of PRB’s long-running media training project, Pop’Mediafrique, that met regularly until 2005.
