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How Population Headliners was started
By Laura Olson
Chief, Population Clearing-House and Information Section, 1970-1981
For 30 years ESCAP’s sprightly Population
Headliners has illustrated succinctly why the sharing of population
information is important. Men and women working in fields
related to population need quick and easy access to information
about the programmes of Governments, NGOs, universities and
the United Nations family of organizations, which can assist
them.
All are strengthened by the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
They literally teach one another how to save money and improve
the quality of life.
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In print since
April 1975, Headliners celebrates with the present issue its
30-year anniversary. A special insert has been prepared for
this occasion |
Here’s a little
history on how Population Headliners came to be. When the
Population Division of ESCAP (then known as ECAFE) was established,
it included a section with the strange name of “Clearing-House
and Information”, which had a staff of five: three professionals
and two support staff. Making inquiries, they soon learned
that very little was known about the rich resources of the
Asia-Pacific region. Government offices, research and teaching
institutions and non-governmental agencies were becoming busy
working on the various problems related to the growing population,
but sharing what they were learning was done on an ad hoc
basis.
The First Asian Population Conference held at New Delhi in
1963 had strongly recommended “the establishment of
a clearing house of information” to facilitate data
sharing. The desired follow-up required funding and direction.
Neither came quickly. ECAFE’s Executive Secretary U
Nyun brought in United Nations regional population advisers
and specialists. One of these advisers was Carl M. Frisen,
then stationed in New York. He would later become the first
Chief of the Population Division after resources became available.
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Ms. Thawadi Pachariyangkun and Mr. John Loftus reminisce about
the “good old days” when Population Headliners
was printed in-house using a mimeograph machine. Ms. Thawadi
edited the newsletter between 1981 and 1989; Mr. Loftus introduced
the offset newsletter style in 1985 and was editor between
1989 and 2001. |
| Within ECAFE’s member countries, he knew or was introduced
to visionaries in population-related fields, who understood
the value of working together to solve problems and who were
drawing on knowledge from friends and colleagues around the
world. However, a more systematic approach was needed. |
| It would take many
pages to list all of the population pioneers, but here is
a sampling: Asok Mitra of India; Mercedes Concepcion and Gloria
Feliciano of the Philippines; Dr. N. Iskandar and Haryono
Suyono of Indonesia; Ben Mok of Hong Kong, China; Dr. Minoru
Tachi and Dr. Toshio Kuroda of Japan; Dr. Rita Thapa of Nepal;
Anuri Wanglee, Dr. Visid Prachuabmoh and Dr. Boonlert Leoprapai
of Thailand; M. Amani of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Prof.
W.D. Borrie of Australia; K. Kanagaratnam of Singapore; Irene
Taeuber and Dr. Phil Hauser of the United States; Francis
Dennis of the United Kingdom; and Dr. Nafis Sadik of Pakistan.
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Ms. Laura Olson living now in Oregon |
Their contributions were invaluable.
ECAFE would soon lead the international field in helping member
States to tackle and solve demographic and family planning
problems by sharing information.
The staff of the Clearing-House had a lot of basic problems
to solve in the beginning. Two of its professionals, Hunter
Chiang and Jacques du Guerny, developed a mail survey to identify
ongoing population programmes and research within the region.
The results were astounding.
The survey data and material from the International Union
for the Scientific Study of Population were published by ECAFE.
They listed known and ongoing research. They confirmed what
the visionaries and the United Nations had discovered.
The next step was to share findings broadly within the region
and establish systematic methods of communication. Addresses
had been listed in the publications to encourage intra- and
inter-country correspondence. National population libraries
were strengthened, as were those of the United Nations family.
It became obvious, though, that the dissemination of information
had to speed up, and that ECAFE could help to do this. Networks
of government and academic correspondents were established.
Workshops and individual training of correspondents began.
Each member was encouraged to let ECAFE know of achievements.
News poured into the secretariat at Bangkok and it had to
be distributed widely, so the quarterly Asian Population Programme
News was created for this purpose. It was well received. The
first editor was Leah Newick.
Then another need became apparent. Country experts also wanted
a “quick read” sent to them frequently.
The solution, created 30 years ago, was not sophisticated.
It was named Population Headliners and its first editor-writer
was Mike Schmicker.
Published monthly, its small, short items provided a “quick
read” of highlights tailored for busy decision makers,
researchers and teachers, among other readers. Experts might
call its style “short and choppy”, but it worked.
Those early editions would look pretty basic compared with
today’s newsletter, which has colour photographs and
banners. Its stories are longer. Today it also provides more
news about United Nations programmes that are influenced by
population factors, which makes sense after 30 years of experience.
Today’s readers also know that more information about
other activities, products and services of ESCAP are available
online through the Internet. The United Nations and member
countries are better equipped today to meet challenges.
Those early days of basic training in finding and disseminating
population information have paid off for all of us. Networks
continue to be established and changes in them reflect changes
in communication technology. Staff members move on or retire
or join as beginners and bring new ideas and approaches, but
the goals remain on track. Challenges remain, of course, and
one which never changes is the challenge of funding.
Still here in rural western Oregon, I think with deep appreciation
of friends all around the ESCAP region and beyond who made
this information transformation possible. Working together
we moved some mountains and working together we will overcome
new barriers in the future. |
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