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Dominican President Luis Abinader and OGP CEO Sanjay Pradhan Welcome Reformers to Open Americas

Presidente Dominicano, Luis Abinader, y el Director ejecutivo, Sanjay Pradhan, dan la bienvenida a reformadores a América Abierta

Government and Civil Society Leaders from All Over the Americas meet in Santo Domingo to Promote Openness.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Today, the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader Corona welcomed hundreds of government representatives from the three branches and leaders from civil society, academia, and the private sector to Open Americas/América Abierta. The President was joined in the opening by members of his cabinet, Sanjay Pradhan, CEO of the Open Government Partnership and Annabel Cruz, Co-Chair of the OGP Steering Committee.

“Open Americas/América Abierta is a space where we can articulate common commitments of the entire region, such as integrating the commitments emanating from the Summit of the Americas and other pertinent forums related to the promotion of transparency and the fight against corruption,” said President Abinader.

The Dominican Republic has been an active member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) since 2011.  Working with civil society the government  has created four action plans which include commitments to advance transparency, open procurement, open data, and include citizens in the policy-making process. The country is currently co-creating a fifth action plan with a forum of stakeholders from all sectors.For its recent and impactful work and commitment to open government, it was selected as the host country of the event. 

Open Americas takes place as democratic values are regressing ​​in many countries, and authoritarian regimes, corruption scandals, and natural disasters impacting  millions of people are on the rise.

To address the challenges of today, Sanjay Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer of OGP, called on all participants to redouble efforts to fight against corruption, reduce citizen distrust in institutions, address gender inequities, fight climate change, and protect civic space.

“We need to forge new coalitions outside of OGP, with youth, women, and social movements to better connect with citizen concerns, with broader cabinet ministries, parliaments and judiciaries to continue advancing an open State,” Pradhan said.

For three days, the participants will work together for a more open, democratic, and sustainable America and discuss issues such as transparency, integrity,  the fight against corruption, protection of rights and freedoms, democratic governance, data and technology for the common good, inclusion of vulnerable groups, citizen participation and collaboration, protection of the environment, and sustainable development.

Comments (1)

Samuel Obrien-Kumi Reply

I certainly hope the values addressed in this article are adhered to, especially in RD. I truly admire this country and all the possibilities here. I would love to see more dedication towards infrastructure improvement in the areas of power delivery and water sanitation. I also see that this country like it’s many neighbors, including the United States, suffers from a large income disparity. There is serious gap between wealth and poverty with many people straddling the line between middle class and poverty. The hotels and tourism accounts for large segment of employment here. However, the basic pay rate is well below a living wage for single person much less someone with a family. The government must do better in this area. Improve power delivery and sanitation. Improve the wages across the board. There is no way a person here can survive on 400 USD a month.

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