OGP Countries and Partners Pledge to Support Peers

A significant benefit to joining OGP is being connected with a network of allies with valuable experiences in working toward a common objective of a more open government. In advance of the OGP High-Level Event at the United Nations on September 24th 2014, all OGP participating countries and a collection of OGP partners, including civil society organizations, were asked to make a pledge to build a more active peer exchange and support activities with other OGP counties. A total of 32 countries, 13 civil society organizations, five OGP Working Groups, and five Multilateral Partners made commitments to help countries make more ambitious commitments and implement them.

These pledges were included in a one-sentence summary included in Annex 1 of the Outcome Statement and the details behind each commitment have now been published in a supplemental Annex.

Read the full blog post on the pledges here.

How does open government make a difference in peoples lives?

The practice of open government makes government more transparent and participatory, both of which make it more accountable to citizens. As citizens have greater capacity to hold government accountable, public services will improve. In a society with high inequality such as ours, it is often citizens who need government services the most - the poor and disadvantaged - who have the greatest difficulty in being heard. It is important that government becomes accountable to them.

How have you benefited from exchanging ideas with civil society?

Constant dialogue with civil society helps generate new ideas and support for government reform programs. Civil society can also be a source of honest feedback, which often times is crucial in preventing a bureaucrat like more from being too bureaucratic.

Read the full interview on the OGP blog.