Announcing the Agenda for the 5th OGP Global Summit

We are pleased to share the agenda for the 5th OGP Global Summit in Tbilisi, Georgia!

What makes designing an agenda for a global summit difficult is having it reflect the many priorities of the ninety-six OGP governments, civil society colleagues, international and multilateral partners, journalists, and other open government advocates. Our guiding objective this year was to have the Summit be a place to explore the role of open government approaches and for OGP to drive an ambitious reform agenda in the areas of anti-corruption, civic engagement, and public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... More. Equally important, we want this to be a moment for us to collectively reflect on the changing global context and challenges that affect the ways governments make policy and serve their citizens.

Drawing on the experience of past global summits, we realize that one of the key opportunities that an OGP Summit provides is being a shared space for reformers across sectors and communities to enable intersecting conversations and collaboration. So whether you’re working on open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... and digital rights, media, extractives, or the role of youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More in governance, the Summit has a place for you – we want the Summit to help bust some siloes. The Summit is also a moment for us as a community to hold ourselves accountable to those we serve – as governments, as civil society, as donors, as partners – taking stock that we are doing all we can to enable, support, and foster more ambitious reforms that truly change the lives of people around the world.

The agenda for the Global Summit was co-created with the community through an open call for proposals, which were then evaluated by an editorial committee. The proposals were evaluated using the following criteria: relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic... (to overall thematic track, across regions, and to OGP’s mandate), creativity (format and encouraging participation), impact, and inclusivity (across sectors, regions, and communities).  The editorial committee consisted of representatives from the OGP Support UnitThe OGP Support Unit is a small, permanent group of staff that work closely with the Steering Committee and the Independent Reporting Mechanism to advance the goals of the Open Government Partnership...., the Government of Georgia, civil society organizations, and international partners. We received over five hundred proposals in less than a month covering the three main tracks – anti-corruption, civic engagement, public service delivery, and an open track showcasing other cross-cutting and emerging issues. Of the proposals received, 55% came from civil society, 17% from government, and a little over ten percent from international organizations. Clichéd though it may sound, drilling down to an agenda that can accommodate less that a fifth of that number was not an easy task by any means.

This blueprint of the OGP agenda only focuses on the topics and session organizers. Over the next few weeks, we will work with the organizers to ensure that each conversation is led by a dynamic range of speakers, striking a positive genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More and geographic balance that reflects the best of the diverse OGP community. Along with the session organizers, we hope to be able to reach out to more of you in an effort to integrate multiple perspectives, think through creative formats, and tee up critical questions for collective reflection.

The Funicular Complex that the Government of Georgia has chosen as the venue for this year’s OGP Global Summit provides a stunning background for many new collaborations, corridor-coffee conversations, and some interesting networking moments – which we’ve learned over the years are just as important as the formal agenda.

This summit agenda anchors a week of other key moments – a civil society day (co-hosted by civil society colleagues based in Georgia), an OGP government points of contact day, a parliament day (co-hosted by the Parliament of Georgia), a workshop for OGP Local Pioneers, and several side events hosted by our partners. The OGP Summit goes well beyond just this day and half of sessions- it is a week-long celebration of and critical reflection on open government

We look forward to seeing you in Tbilisi – and watch this space for more information!