Workshop “Afro-descendant populations and sociodemographic indicators as policy input: processing of census data with REDATAM and mapping with QGis”

During the last decades, there has been undeniable progress in the identification of the Afro-descendant population in Latin America in different data sources, with population and housing censuses being of particular importance, given their universal coverage and the possibilities of disaggregation at smaller scales. that this instrument allows.

These efforts have gone hand in hand with the development of awareness among Afro-descendant people about the need to have disaggregated statistical information about their own communities in order to make visible the problems that affect them, hand in hand with a growing demand for training in data management, particularly from Afro-descendant youth.

In this context, demographic and social information constitutes a fundamental tool for the design and application of programs and policies, and as an instrument for the promotion of the rights of people of African descent. In recent census decades, national statistical offices have welcomed demands for greater and more reliable identification of people of African descent, anticipating that by the 2020 round, 18 of the 20 countries in the region will have questions on ethnic identification. racial.

Without prejudice to the advances in the recognition of people of African descent and their inclusion in various data sources, it must be noted that it is not enough to collect information. The region continues to face the challenge of promoting its use and exploitation by processing disaggregated data, carrying out sociodemographic studies of Afro-descendants, preparing census bases so that they are accessible to different users, and by strengthening national capacities. for your use. Along with this, it is also necessary to carry out a critical evaluation of the information that is currently produced in the field of official statistical systems, to advance in the definition of culturally relevant indicators and in the design of their corresponding collection instruments.

These issues are part of the work agenda of the Afro-descendant movement in the region, such as the Afro-descendant Youth Network of Latin America and the Caribbean, a coalition that promotes compliance with international, regional and national regulatory frameworks for the promotion of equality and guarantee of the rights of Afro-descendant youth, includes among its commitments advocacy to achieve recognition and statistical visibility in official information systems of Afro-descendants, including Afro-descendant youth, such as censuses, multipurpose household surveys, demographic and health surveys , administrative records, programs and social policies.

For its part, CELADE-Population Division of ECLAC has been systematically developing, since the beginning of this century, various activities related to the population dynamics of Afro-descendants, including: technical assistance to the states of the region to promote and generate information disaggregated; the preparation of studies and technical reports with policy recommendations; the dissemination and exchange of experiences; and the strengthening of national capacities in the production and use of sociodemographic information. These activities are carried out with the participation of people of African descent, in conjunction with other state and international organizations, also counting on the support of international cooperation.

This workshop is part of the activities that CELADE carries out as part of its work program, responding to specific demands, in order to contribute to the processes of strengthening national capacities in the use and analysis of disaggregated information for populations and Afro-descendant youth.

The specific objectives of this workshop are:

1. Strengthen access to knowledge about the different sources of sociodemographic information, particularly census information.
2. Strengthen technical training for the production of disaggregated and territorially focused information from the census through the use of REDATAM as a dynamic tool for processing census data.
3. Strengthen the contextualized analytical capacity of sociodemographic information for its use in the design and application of public policies aimed at guaranteeing Afro-descendant rights, including the visualization of ethnic-racial inequalities along with gender, generational and territorial inequalities.
4. Contribute to the empowerment of young people of African descent in the use of information for political advocacy, with a view to strengthening the exploitation of available census data and the upcoming population and housing censuses to be carried out in each of their countries. .