The Conference of the Population, Households and Dwellings Census Week was held today, at November 8, in Prishtina. In the opening conference of the Population Census Week in Kosovo participated the main leaders of the central, local, regional and international level, where the importance of the Census process, methodology and implementation approaches, models and best state practices were discussed.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Albin Kurti, opened the Population Census Week, organized by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics within the OPM, supported by the UNFPA-Office in Kosovo. In his speech, Prime Minister, Mr. Kurti, expressed his support for the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, and said that the Population, Households and Dwellings Census is one of the most important institutional undertakings in our country.

“The data on the size, distribution and composition of the population, living conditions and the level of education are the empirical balance of the present and the basis of policies for the future. They enable all data users, especially decision-makers at the local and central level, but also donors and other investors - to orientate and target the best policies and services for citizens", said Prime Minister Kurti. Furthermore, he added, the data speak of a historic economic growth in our country for the past year with 10.7% of the Gross Domestic Product, while in the first quarter of this year, we have an increase of over 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

The Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Mr. Liburn Aliu, in his speech emphasized the importance of statistical data and the institutional commitment to the systematic and responsible use of official data through cross-sectoral cooperation in the public interest; for better planning and legal mechanisms in addressing demands for land use, transport, economy and environment.

Furthermore, Minister Aliu said that "Spatial and urban planning and the improvement of living conditions for our citizens, as a priority of the government, requires professional and scientific engagement in identifying the needs, demands and challenges of our citizens in matters related to housing and public spaces. Within the Institute for Spatial Planning, 50 basic indicators of spatial and urban planning have been dealt with”.

The United Nations Development Coordinator in Kosovo, Mrs. Arnhild Spence, in her speech of the occasion, emphasized the readiness of the United Nations Agencies to support the Kosovo government in the country's progress in collecting data for the indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Emphasizing the close cooperation of the Population Fund-UNFPA in the activity of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, focusing on the operational activities of the population census, said that the next Population Census is an ideal opportunity to create the basic instrument for the Human Development Index (HDI) data in Kosovo".

 Further, Mrs. Spence emphasized that "Without credible statistical institutions, it is impossible to know the needs of people in Kosovo, for the most important indicators of the human development index".

The leader of the Cooperation Unit, EU Office in Kosovo, Mr. Madsen, in his speech of the occasion, emphasized the importance of national statistical systems for democratic development. He expressed the need to improve the administrative data registers in Kosovo, as well as the importance of the reforms that have already been made in the process of digitizing the Population Census in Kosovo. He reiterated the importance of implementing the practices of international standards in the realization of the Census process.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Madsen complimented all the actors involved in the project of organizing and conducting the Population Census on the launch of the project activities.

In his speech, the Acting Chief Executive of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics emphasized the importance of the national population Census project for the national statistical program in the country.

Population Census Manager, Mr. Avni Kastrati, presented the strategic objectives and implementation phases of the project, as well as thanked the representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and diplomatic missions and international offices for the support of KAS.

Census Week officially kicks off the Census outreach and awareness campaign. Census Week is organized with the support of the Population Fund - UNFPA office in Kosovo.