Asia: Open Government Partnership Marks 5 Year Anniversary at United Nations

*** For Immediate Release ***

NEW YORK, 20 SEPTEMBER 2016 – Open Government Partnership (OGP) marked its five year anniversary with a high-level forum on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly today. Vice President Jusuf Kalla of Indonesia addressed the gathering of Heads of State and civil society leaders, discussing the benefits of OGP that have already been realized, as well as those to come.

“This is our lesson learned: government opens greater doors that enable everyone to be a partner, to grow and grab opportunities together,” he said, adding that “we are committed to taking an active part in promoting the principles of OGP in the area, and even to become an OGP ambassador in the Asia-Pacific region. Everyone is invited to join in this movement and get progress out of it; to benefit from transparency and openness; creating growth and welfare for people.”

Indonesia, one of OGP’s eight founding member governments, is currently implementing its third National Action Plan. An Indonesian initiative, “Pencerah Nusantara (Guiding Lights of the Archipelago),” won second place at the prestigious 2015 Open Government Awards at the OGP Global Summit in Mexico City last October. And earlier this year, the Indonesian regency of Bojonegoro was selected to be one of fifteen governments to participate in OGP’s subnational government pilot program.

OGP is a unique international initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, increase civic participation, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to make governments more open, effective, and accountable to citizens around the world. Launched five years ago today, with eight governments and nine civil society organizations, OGP now includes 70 national governments, 15 subnational governments, seven multilateral organizations, and thousands of civil society organizations who together have made over 3,000 commitments towards open government reform.

Commenting on the initiative’s impressive growth, OGP Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Pradhan said, “OGP has grown more quickly than anyone ever imagined it would, which is testimony to an increasing demand around the world for a more open relationship between governments and the people they serve. However, the success of OGP over the next five years will be measured not by the number of countries or commitments but by the extent to which we deliver transformative impact in the lives of ordinary citizens.”

Notes to editors:

• The OGP High-Level Event was live-streamed 1700 – 1830 EST on our website. Video from the event will soon be housed on our youtube channel.

• The event was also live-tweeted using the hashtag: #5YearsOGP.

• For further information about OGP please visit our website or consult our brochure.

• To watch our “5 Years of OGP” video, please click here.

About OGP:

Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a unique multilateral initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, increase civic participation, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to make governments more open, effective, and accountable to citizens around the world.

OGP was formally launched on September 20, 2011, at the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting, when eight heads of state, along with an equal number of civil society leaders, endorsed the Open Government Declaration and published the first cohort of OGP National Action Plans with specific open government reform commitments. OGP has since grown to include 69 governments (representing a third of the world’s population), seven multilateral bodies and hundreds of civil society organizations. OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) holds governments accountable for their commitments by producing thorough, impartial reports that track progress on National Action Plans.

MEDIA CONTACT:

For questions or to set up interviews, please contact:

In New York: Dietlind Lerner, communications director
dietlind.lerner@opengovepartnership.org

In Washington DC: Rachel Ostrow, communications officer
rachel.ostrow@opengovpartnership.org

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