The governments of Canada, Italy, and Kenya have been elected by their peers to serve for three years on the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) beginning October 1, 2020. They will start their new terms alongside three new civil society leaders who will be selected by the open government community in the coming weeks.
Welcoming the announcement, OGP CEO Sanjay Pradhan, congratulated the three governments on being elected to lead this global partnership. He said “We warmly welcome these governments joining the Steering Committee at a time when democracy was already facing its greatest threat and now amidst the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. The leadership role of our Steering Committee is critical to bringing together governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to ensure open and effective response and recovery that builds citizen trust and reinvigorates democracy post-COVID-19.”
The Steering Committee’s main role is to develop, promote and safeguard the values, principles and interests of OGP and is led by the Government of Argentina and Robin Hodess. It also establishes the core ideas, policies, and rules of the partnership, as well as oversees its functioning.
Welcoming the three nations, Cesar Gazzo Huck, Undersecretary of Open Government and Digital Nation of Argentin said “The Government of Argentina congratulates Canada, Italy and Kenya on their election as government members of the Steering Committee. We look forward to working together to leverage our leadership role to shape and deliver on OGP’s ambitious vision to build more transparent, inclusive, and participatory governments.”
The OGP Steering Committee consists of 22 members – 11 from government and 11 from civil society and this is the seventh rotation of the OGP Steering Committee since it was launched in September 2011. Each year, all eligible OGP participating governments vote to elect new government representatives to the Steering Committee, as per the OGP Articles of Governance.
TheOGP Steering Committee met in Berlin earlier this year to discuss the state of open government and there endorsed a three-year implementation plan that provides a roadmap for better implementation of OGP’s mission and vision, given both OGP’s growth and the changed operating environment. As part of this and to scale up support for all levels of government, OGP launched a call for expressions of interest for up to 50 new local governments to join the Partnership.
Government leaders and civil society advocates came together in 2011 to create a unique partnership—one that combines these powerful forces to promote accountable, responsive and inclusive governance. Today, 78 countries and a growing number of local governments—representing more than two billion people—along with thousands of civil society organizations are members of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
