PSA caps CR-VS month 

With essay, poster fest 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 9, (PIA)—Philippine Statistics Authority in Bohol culminated this year’s Civil Registration Month with series of contests in poster making and essay writing, in attempts to bring down the importance of civil registration and vital statistics to the younger generation. 

In a gathering of city school participants at the Galeria Luisa Activity Center last February 28, student writers from leading city secondary schools expounded on the theme: “Inclusive and Responsive CRVS: Working Smarter Through Innovation.” 

In the essay writing contest, judges unanimously picked this entry, entitled “Today Matters, You Matter: Making History,” as standout piece. The following is the complete text. 

All across history, humanity has always made records of important events. (In fact, these records are what we call “history” today.) It began with the cave paintings of cattle and farms, the invention of language, the inception of inscription. And today, we see this in the form of social media timelines and browser search histories. As many people say-“Looking into the past is getting a glimpse at the future”. 

In the past, the ancients would take note of significant events in their lives, like births, deaths, and marriages. But this isn’t just a thing of the past-it’s something that we continue to do today, under a very different name. It’s what the scribes of today do-civil registration. 

Civil registration is exactly that-the registration of civil events. And this year, in the year 2019, we push for inclusive and responsive civil registration. 

First, let’s begin by outlining the general importance of civil registration. What does it entail? Why do we have to give this information away? What do statistics companies and the government do with our information? 

Civil registration is, in the simplest of terms, letting the government know what’s going on in your life. The government needs this information in order to predict and foresee the country’s future. They use our information, in a way, as a looking glass into the past-to see what we have done and where we will go. 

Now, innovation, people will assume innovation means only technological innovation. But there also exists another type of innovation – social innovation. Think of it like the spunky little sibling of innovation. 

As times change, technologies advance. They evolve and grow according to our needs and to humanity’s greatest minds. Every generation has used their advances in technology to further expand their capabilities. Today, it is no different. In an era where it’s never been easier to access, store, and upload information, we have never been more connected. 

This makes things easier for civil registration. Gone are the days of heavy papers (although they do make great backup), and gone are the days of slagging through cabinets to find information. We now have a more accurate number of our population, and thus a more accurate recording of our country’s activities. 

Continuing on the path of efficiency, new technological advances mean that all information can be stored in one place. Computers can now tally and add up millions of data to create truthful representations and ratios. This gives a better understanding into why our country is the way it is – and how it can continue to function. 

With the help of technology, civil registration is a lot smarter. Computers were created to make computing easier, and this translates to statistics and the way we collect information. 

Onto the spunky little sibling - social innovation. A goal for civil registration is to make it universal. Governments often call for “100% registration”. One hundred percent usually means inclusity, and inclusivity is usually hand-in-hand with equality. This means that we can’t have “100%” in the presence of prejudice. 

Now, what is social innovation and how does it relate to civil registration? 

Innovations are breakthroughs. Therefore, social innovations are social breakthroughs. Here, we can include the rise of feminism, the fight for gender equality, the destruction of out-dated social cases, the battle for recognition for people of color, and other things break down the walls and strict rules of society and bring us closer as humans. 

In line with the goal of “keeping it a hundred” (apologies to YouTube creator Gabriel Zamora), social innovation actually means a lot to civil registration. Because no matter who you are or where you are in society, you deserve to be included. You deserve to have a say in the future and well-being of your country. 

Inclusive and responsive registration has to include the people that society says “doesn’t matter”. The minorities, the PWDs, the queer community - they deserve to be represented fairly and in the way they wish to be represented. They matter, too. They are also citizens of this country. 

In the end, it’s our duty as citizens of the Philippines to ensure the continuous progress and prosperity of our country. It is our responsibility to be aware of the importance of civil registration and how it pertains to the state of the country. 

To summarize, civil registration is an important and necessary part of the countries welfare. Through innovations like technological innovations and social innovations, it’s become smarter and much more inclusive. Through technological innovation, civil registration has becomes more efficient and accurate. Through social innovation, civil registration has become more inclusive and equal. We put all this together to create a trusted system of information – the modern version of scurrying, if you will, all for the good of our country. 

Civil registration has taught me a very important lesson – what is the future without the past? What is our destiny without what we do today? 

It is nothing. So, today matters. You matter, you are making history.(Happy Civil Registration Month!). (PIA with PSA) 

PSA Bohol head Jessamyne Anne Alcazaren briefly explains the importance of civil registration and vital statistics before the participants of the essay writing contest as the PSA culminates Civil Registration Month in February. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)