The public are encouraged to make use of a special time capsule section on the 2022 Census form.
Ahead of census night, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is encouraging people to consider what they might include as a time capsule message for future generations.
A new feature on the 2022 census form invites households to write a personal message that will be kept strictly confidential for 100 years.
A unique opportunity to write a message for your descendants a century from now.
As always, the census includes standard questions on topics such as religion, employment, and marital status.
Eileen Murphy of the CSO says respondents are free to write whatever they wish in the time capsule section. However, only the text written in the officially designated area will be preserved. Additional notes or photographs cannot be included.
The CSO also emphasises that all entries will remain confidential until 2122.
Historians have welcomed this new addition, seeing it as a valuable resource for the future. Cathy Scuffil, historian at Dublin City Council, says the messages focus on individuals and what matters to them at this particular moment in time. This new feature transforms the census from a purely statistical exercise into a human one.
We are the envy of historians across the world.
At the Waterford Museum of Time, visitors shared what they plan to write as their messages to future generations. One woman said she hopes people will know that,
Apart from the pandemic, life has been great.
Only time will tell how future generations will view the thoughts we choose to share.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 March 2022. The reporter is Conor Hunt.
