Local Roundup | May 2025

New Action Plans

This month, three members delivered their first and second action plans: 

• Fuvahmulah’s (Maldives) first action plan seeks to create an Environmental Defenders Group of 30 young participants, to collect and manage environmental data and improve digital access to information with a centralized platform for sharing key council updates, announcements, public services, and opportunities for civic participation.
• Travnik’ (Bosnia-Herzegovina) first action plan focuses on the digitization of key municipal services such as tracking businesses registration status and scholarship applications, and the creation of a “Guide through Municipal Administration” to educate both citizens and municipal councilors about the roles and competencies of local government institutions. 

Open Government in Action

• Navarra (Spain) launched the Mobile Citizen Service Office to bring the regional government closer to small rural towns like Lodosa and Fitero. The regional government is also advancing its environmental commitments by launching its first Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change and successfully getting 80% of its municipalities to join the climate commitment.
• Kakamega (Kenya) brought together civil society and local officials to disseminate its Public Participation Policy and explore collaboration, and announced a new toll-free Call center  for complaints and tracking service delivery.
• Yogyakarta (Indonesia) held an event on participatory disaster risk reduction collaboration and poverty alleviation based on integrated interactive collaborative data with the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
• OGP Local Representatives from Tunisia,  Jordan and Morocco met virtually to explore ways to support and strengthen the open government ecosystem in the Arab region.
• DEAN Initiative launched the Lake Chad Climate Justice Youth Fellowship, supported by the Climate Justice Resilience Fund to involve youth in climate action. This 24-month program empowers young leaders (ages 18–35) from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad to drive climate justice and environmental action in the Lake Chad region.
• Villanueva Cortes (Honduras) held a Public Session where residents presented various requests to develop their communities. The local municipality also announced the construction of a new Health Center, a priority project for strengthening public services in the area.

Learnings

• Since joining 2016, Scotland (UK) has rolled out three OGP action plans and picked up valuable lessons along the way. Dive into the highlights in this snapshot of Scotland’s Future Look Report. 
• South Cotabato (Philippines) shared insights  from the co-creation and implementation of their 2022-2025 Action Plan, focusing on their efforts to involve citizens in monitoring infrastructure projects and providing information and cybercrime education to enhance transparency.
• In their Inception Report, Lisbon (Portugal) underlined the importance of co-creation, transparency of information and strong engagement within their 2024-2025 Action Plan.

Events:

• OGP Local held its first Coffee Conversation—an informal, peer-led exchange designed to share practical experiences. This first session focused on co-creation, with members from Scotland, the Basque Country, Madrid, Córdoba Province, São Paulo, and Nuevo León sharing how they’re building more inclusive, practical processes that work on the ground.
• On May 19, the OGP Local Anti-Corruption Circle, led by Lisbon, Peñalolén, Plateau State, San Joaquín, and Yerevan, hosted a webinar in collaboration with NDI focused on how messaging supports integrity reforms and builds public trust through real-world examples and new research. Access the full recording!
• Explore the OGW 2025 Local Agenda: a curated selection of events organized by local reformers or designed with local actors in mind— and explore how locals are advancing integrity, inclusion, climate action, youth engagement, and more. Among the highlights, we invite you to join three OGP Local Circles sessions:
  • May 20 | OGP Local Circle – Inclusion | Inclusion and Open Government: Care, Disability, and Women’s Leadership at the Local Level
    Organized by Peñalolén, Aragón, Bogotá, and the Basque Country, this session highlights local initiatives tackling care systems, digital accessibility for people with disabilities and older adults, and advancing women’s leadership through open and participatory governance.  Register here
  • May 23 | OGP Local Circle – SDG and Agenda 2030 | Building a More Participatory 2030 Agenda
    Led by São Paulo, this hands-on session explores how Open Gov Action Plans can support the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Join us to share your experiences, reflect with peers, and co-create future pathways for aligning local action with the 2030 Agenda. Register here

Opportunities:

• Apply by July 1, 2025 to join one of three People Powered programs offering tailored support to strengthen democratic participation:

1. 1. Democratic Innovations Accelerator (DIA): For youth participation in policymaking (EU & Horizon Europe only).
   2. Inclusive Democracy Accelerator (IDA): For engaging youth, women, and displaced people (Latin America, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe).
   3. Rising Stars Mentorship: For solving specific participation challenges through focused mentorship (EU & Horizon Europe priority).

• Join the Participatory Group — a global initiative led by Madrid’s City Council that brings together local and regional governments, institutions, and universities to spark innovation and share best practices in public participation. With 74 active members, the group has already hosted 23 workshops, 10 roundtables, 23 training sessions, and produced 43 podcasts, connecting over 400 participants worldwide.

Open Government Challenge

Congratulations to this month’s challengers! Take a look are the approved commitments: 

• 🇪🇸 Valencian Community (Spain) committed to draft regulations that increase the role of civil society in decision-making. 
• 🇲🇦 The consortium of regions of Oriental, Drâa-Tafilalet, Souss-Massa and Laayoune Sakia El Hamra (Morocco) committed to develop a regional action program to raise awareness of adaptation to climate change. 
• 🇰🇪 Machakos (Kenya) committed to strengthen citizen engagement and public participation by establishing structured and inclusive guidelines to ensure all citizens have a voice in governance.
• 🇵🇭 Bula (Philippines) committed to implementing participatory budgeting.