Dr. Renzo Daviddi, Chargé d’affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, got insight into a previous census in the country when he visited the Exhibition ”Census in Sarajevo in 1910”.
The Exhibition was organised for the second time by the Historical Archive Sarajevo in the Museum of City of Sarajevo, at the Brusa Bezistan. This time it was held from 13 to 20 December 2012 on the occasion of the Day of Archives and Archives Service in BiH.
Dr. Daviddi was welcomed by the Director of the Historical Archive Sarajevo, Haris Zaimovic and one of the authors of the exhibition, Almira Alibasic Fideler.
Dr. Daviddi was very impressed with the archive materials preserved and displayed from the last census conducted under the Austro-Hungarian rule in Sarajevo. It is considered to be one of the most detailed censuses, and was happening simultaneously with the census in the Monarchy and Europe.
Dr. Daviddi used the opportunity to stress the importance of conducting the Population and Household Census in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013. He commented:
“Reliable and comprehensive state-level statistics are essential data for governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Any policy or programme for the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina whether social, economic or otherwise must be based on an accurate data. To get access to this data a countrywide population census is required. The EU’s interest and involvement in the census is related particularly to the European integration process. In this context, we have committed almost 4.5 million EUR to provide the equipment needed for the census, as well as technical assistance and the international monitoring operation itself. “
In answering media questions, Dr. Daviddi confirmed that due to lack of technical preparedness and political commitment, the International Monitoring Operation on the Population and Housing Census 2013 has assessed that Bosnia and Herzegovina is not yet ready to conduct the Census in April 2013 and recommended its postponement for at least six months in order to ensure proper preparation of the Census and to avoid unreliable results and statistics.
