The IBGE State Superintendence of Ceará (SES/CE) is closing the second phase of the 2022 Population Census Planning and Monitoring Meetings (Repacs) in the state. Until Monday (7), more than 150 Repacs had already been carried out in Ceará, reaching around 84% of the 184 municipalities. In the coming weeks, other meetings must be held, organized and conducted by the Census Area and Sub-area Coordinators in each region of the state.

The idea is to hold Repacs in all municipalities over three rounds. The first of them, already carried out, took place before the start of the Census, aiming at planning the data collection and establishing partnerships for its execution. The second round of meetings is taking place now, throughout the census operation, with a focus on monitoring and evaluating the work carried out, as well as on strengthening partnerships until the collection is completed. The third and final phase of Repacs will be after the end of the Census, for the dissemination of the results obtained.

Repacs already finished in several Census areas in Ceará

Until last Monday (7), 10 of the 19 Census work areas in Ceará had already completed their second round of Repacs: the Caucaia Area (led by Coordinator Luciano Oliveira), the Quixadá Area (with 11 municipalities , led by Coordinator José Newton Serra), the Limoeiro do Norte Area (with 8 municipalities, led by Coordinator Israel Sousa), the Sobral Area (with 23 municipalities, led by Coordinator Arthur Parente), the Tauá Area (with 7 municipalities, led by Coordinator César Ferreira), the Tianguá Area (with 15 municipalities, led by Coordinator Modesto Moita), the Crateús Area (with 10 municipalities, led by Coordinator Valdeci Silva), the Crato Area (with 11 municipalities, led by Coordinator Leandro Feitosa), the Canindé Area (with 7 municipalities, led by Coordinator Carlos Náuber Soares) and the Juazeiro do Norte Area (with 16 municipalities, led by Coordinator Joana Balbino).

One of the first Repacs was held in the municipality of Catarina, in the Tauá Area, on September 28, which was attended by city hall heads, councilors and the Census team. “During the meeting, the progress of collection in the municipality was presented and the support of health agents was agreed upon with the Health Department to carry out the interviews in closed hoseholds”, commented Coordinator César Ferreira, about the help gained from the meeting.

Also in the Tauá Area, on October 5th, it was the turn of Parambu's Repac, which brought information to the municipal authorities on the progress of data collection, the difficulties found and the challenges for the enumeration areass that are yet to be surveyed. Marcos Alex de Freitas, president of the City Council, talked on behalf of the councilors of Parambu: “We declare our support and ask the population to help in this very important work of the 2022 Census, which in the future will help in the implementation of more reliable and necessary public policies."

Records of Repacs carried out in the Tauá Area, under the Coordenation of César Ferreira.

On the 1st of November, the Repac of Juazeiro do Norte was held, while the municipality was preparing for the Pilgrimage of All Souls, which attracts around 600 thousand pilgrims from all over the country to the region. In the midst of this great event, the city hall found a moment to talk to the IBGE about the problems related to communication, public safety and the accessibility of enumerators in carrying out the collection in the municipality. The municipal management and the secretaries present pledged to give all the necessary support to the IBGE in the final stretch of the Census.

“In all Repacs, we present the percentage of sectors completed so far, the forecast for completion, and we ask for help in those areas where we identified that coollection has not yet been all covered”, reported Coordinator Joana Balbino, about the follow-up meetings of the Censuses carried out in their work area, including those of the municipality of Juazeiro do Norte. “We took the opportunity to ask the managers to identify if there is any area or family that has not been registered, so that they can go to the collection point, and there we can check which sector corresponds to them and arrange for the interview to be carried out”, explained the coordinator.

The other Census work regions in Ceará are very close to ending their collection follow-up meetings. This is the case of the Iguatu Area, led by Coordinator Tamires Amâncio, the Baturité Area, led by Coordinator Sílvio Romero Fernandes, and the Jaguaribe Area, under the direction of Coordinator Flávio Maia, which have already carried out more than 90% of the planned Repacs . There are now less than 30 municipalities in Ceará with Census follow-up meetings yet to be held, which are already scheduled for the next few days.

Through Repacs, more visibility for the Census

The Repac meetings is a unique opportunity for the Census teams to directly ask the municipal authorities for assistance on several areas, such as structure, equipment, security, transportation, etc. Support in publicizing is one of the points most demanded by the coordinators, and important help has already been obtained from the municipal administrations in Ceará.

In the Sobral Area, Coordinator Arthur Parente took the chance in the Repacs to ask mayors to record videos calling on the population to participate in the Census, and share this content on their social media. Marco, Bela Cruz and Camocim were three of these municipalities where mayors engaged in dissemination. “The Census is also near your house. Welcom it and answer the questionnaire. It is quick and very important for our society and for the improvement of public policies”, commented Betinha Magalhães, mayor of Camocim, who received a visit from the enumerator on November 7 and recorded the moment on her social media.

Records of the Repacs carried out in the Sobral Area, under the Coordination of Arthur Parente.

Coordinated by Flávio Maia, the Jaguaribe Area also got good results with city halls. In the municipality of Icó, mayor Laís Nunes was visited by the Census on October 21, and took the opportunity to pass on the information to the citizens: “It is very important that we have everyone's participation so that we know the reality of our municipality. We reinforce our appeal to population to let the enumerators enter their homes.” In Ipaumirim, a video was produced especially to publicize the Census, with images, interviews and editing done by the City Hall team itself. The video was posted on October 28 and became a huge success, even being shared on the IBGE official page on social media.

In the Area led by Coordinator Leandro Feitosa, the Municipality of Crato was not far behind, and also produced its own video with a message of invitation to the population: “Your participation in this process is very important, so that important data can be collected and for us to better understand our city, with the Population Census. Show that you are proud to be from Crata, and help our municipality to become even better. O The material was posted on Instagram on November 1st, and was also shared on the IBGE profile on the social media.

Records of Repacs carried out in the Crato Area, under the Coordination of Leandro Feitosa.

In the Itapipoca Area, coordinated by Raimundo Rogaciano, it was Amontada mayor Flávio Filho's turn to make an appeal to his countrypeople, explaining the importance of the census operation. “We are finalizing the Census in the city, and it is very important that we can receive the census takers in all the remaining households. It should be noted that this is not information that will harm anyone. In fact, it is information so that we can work even harder on public policies”, clarified the mayor, who recorded the video on November 1st.

In addition to these, many other municipalities in Ceará have also been engaged in publicizing the 2022 Census, either producing their own material or even disseminating official IBGE content. The Repacs from Ceará have in fact served to help the IBGE in its purpose of carrying out the census operation with the greatest possible coverage and quality.

Records of Repacs carried out in Quixadá Area.

Records of Repacs carried out in Limoeiro do Norte Area.

Records of Repacs carried out in Tianguá Area.

Records of Repacs carried out in Crateús Area.

Records of Repacs carried out in Canindé Area.

More records of Repac meetings in Ceará.