iCensus for Sharjah: Count yourself in

A self-counting system, iCensus, for the Sharjah Census 2015 will be made available to all residents of Sharjah from Tuesday, December 1,  the Department of Statistics and Community Development, DSCD, organisers of the project, has said. This follows the completion of the data gathering phase of the census launched in October and concluded on 19th November.

Being held under the slogan, ‘For a Better Tomorrow’, the census will provide accurate and reliable statistical data to be used for the development of the emirate, including economic and social sectors, the DSCD said in its announcement.

Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Sharjah Census 2015 and Chairman of DSCD, said that this phase will be launched by sending text messages, including a user name and password, to all Sharjah residents who registered during the data gathering phase. Those who wish to complete the survey themselves can do so through online applications available on the Sharjah census website from Tuesday.

Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said, "Self-counting will be open to all residents in Sharjah, even those who originally preferred the conventional method carried out by researchers through visits to their homes.
“Residents who choose the conventional counting method will also have the chance to use the self-counting system from December 1-5.
“After this date, researchers will visit families that did not register electronically in order to conclude the census operations."

Al Thani added that the self-counting option eliminates the need for researchers to visit residents in their own homes and said that the census website was designed to allow a smooth and easy process for completing the census online.

"The census project is a national obligation for the citizens and residents of Sharjah, and everyone should cooperate with the researchers and observers to complete it.
“No-one in Sharjah can be excluded from the census and everyone is required to cooperate. The census results will serve everyone in the emirate and help ensure its continued growth, success and prosperity.
“Residents should keep in mind that their data is only being used for measuring the size, growth and needs of the emirate, will not be used for any other purpose and will be kept strictly confidential."

According to Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani, the researchers are fluent in languages other than Arabic and English, such as Urdu, Hindi, Filipino, Russian, Chinese, Bengali, French, German, and Spanish, following the identification of areas with high levels of expat residents. Initially researchers met with families and asked about the name of the father, the number of family members, contact information, and whether the family wished to use the self-counting system and register electronically without a researcher visiting them to gather relevant information.

"A high level of residents responded favorably to the online method of self-counting, this was in fact 55 per cent," he said.
"The census committee will continue to launch awareness and advertising campaigns during the coming period to raise public awareness about the importance of participation, and invite people to register electronically and a press conference will be held to announce the results after the completion of the census."

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