The secretariat of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) has postponed indefinitely this year’s OpenGov Week (OGW) previously scheduled to hold from May 3 to 10, citing the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic which it noted is now present in over 100 countries and has impacted more than 120,000 people.
In a statement released by OGP, Mr Sanjay Pradhan, its Chief Executive Officer, said: “Open government thrives when people come together in dialogue and work to co-create and implement reforms that bring governments closer to their people. Sadly, in the current context, it is not possible to have gatherings in many of our member countries.”
Sanjay also advised the OGP community to delay any other planned OGP events to later in the year or, if possible, switch to virtual meetings.
He advised, “Given the spread of the pandemic, we encourage OGP participants to follow public health instructions and guidelines in their communities and to delay any planned OGP events to later in the year or, if possible, switch to virtual meetings.
“This includes OpenGov Week (OGW) events. OGW is now postponed until further notice. If physical events are already scheduled please delay or move to a digital format,”
He noted that a digital event is not always accessible or desirable, and for that reason, OGP Secretariat hopes to identify a time to mobilize in-person events later in the year, should the situation allow.
During the dates previously planned for OGW, the OGP Support Unit plans to arrange a series of digital engagements for the community. It encourages individuals to contact opengovweek@opengvpartnership.org if they have ideas or suggestions for virtual activities during the week.
