Local Roundup | October 2025

Here’s our monthly roundup of updates from the OGP Local community for October 2025. Check out previous Roundups here!

Hear from Local Leaders

Benjamin B. Magalong, Mayor of Baguio (Philippines)
“Opening our doors to citizen participation does not diminish our authority; rather, it strengthens our legitimacy. And it accelerates progress through the power of collective wisdom. The future of open government will be written in cities and communities where citizens wake up trusting that their voices matter and are heard.”

Featured Story

At the OGP Summit’s Local Afternoon, 250 reformers from across the globe gathered to showcase how government openness is driving change in their communities. Here are four lessons on how open government is creating real change locally. More here.

• Trust takes time and a conversation. Leova (Moldova) shared how it co-designed a new municipality with residents, proving that reform built with communities is stronger than reform built for them.
• Openness strengthens resilience. In Tarkwa Nsuaem (Ghana) and Jalisco (Mexico), representatives shared how they were co-creating solutions with community members for more inclusive governance.
• Participation thrives when it’s built to last. In South Cotabato (Philippines) and Basque Country (Spain), embedding participation into governance processes can increase accountability and inclusion.
• Innovation can bring people closer. In Bogotá (Colombia), Leova (Moldova), and Tarkwa Nsuaem (Ghana), representatives shared how digital tools are giving residents a voice in government.

Share Your Voice

Fill out the OGP Stakeholder Survey to share your thoughts on how the OGP platform and services are working for you. Your feedback helps us improve our support. More here.

Promises to Action

NEW ACTION PLANS, NEW AMBITION

Leova’s (Republic of Moldova) first action plan focuses on expanding and innovating participatory budgeting, with the launch of a dedicated digital platform, online and offline voting, and public consultations. More here.

Ketu South’s (Ghana) first action plan seeks to empower women, youth, and persons with disabilities in local decision-making by hosting training and inclusive local forums, improving public access to information via digital and community platforms, and promoting citizen-led waste management. More here.

Bogotá’s (Colombia) second action plan focuses on citizen-centered governance through digital tools, participatory dialogues, and monitoring mechanisms across safety, education, health, mobility, and women’s rights. More here and here.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (United Kingdom) submitted its first action plan, which aims to enhance open data accessibility and visibility by co-developing a policy framework and centralizing regional data portals. More here.

Ouellé’s (Côte d’Ivoire) first action plan aims to create permanent spaces for citizen participation by institutionalizing accountability sessions and combining digital tools, local forums, and radio to build transparent, inclusive, and participatory local governance. More here.

CHANGE IN MOTION

Madrid’s (Spain) Social Innovation Laboratory THIVIC held a new session to map the key priorities and needs of Madrid’s youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods. More here and here.

Tarkwa Nsuaem (Ghana) broadcast its 2026–2029 Development Plan public hearing live, allowing residents to follow the progress of municipal projects in real time More here.

Kaduna State (Nigeria) is bringing open government to the district level. Across 23 local government areas, 552 officials and civil society actors received training, co-created OGP-aligned action plans, and established permanent citizen engagement channels to advance grassroots reforms. More here.

In Navarra (Spain) the Office of Analysis and Foresight engaged civil society, academics, and government actors to map the province’s main challenges, such as disinformation, sustainability, and housing. Following this, they produced a report highlighting their insights. More here.

Banská Bystrica (Slovak Republic) is involving experts, academics, and residents in the revitalization of its city park through public discussions, to ensure the park is a safe place for residents and visitors. More here.

Madiun (Indonesia) initiated healthy digital space activities to strengthen digital literacy and prevent the spread of online gambling practices, collaborating with public, non-state, and state actors. More here.

Local Lessons

EXCHANGING IDEAS

🌐 Celebrating the International Day for Universal Access to Information, Lisbon (Portugal), Nandi (Kenya), Córdoba Province (Argentina), and South Cotabato (Philippines) shared local strategies, challenges, and innovations to strengthen transparency and advance access to information. More here.

🌐 In a session moderated by NDI as part of the OGP Local Anti-corruption Circle, the Open Data Charter and reformers from Timișoara (Romania), Peñalolén (Chile), and Kaduna (Nigeria) explored how local governments are harnessing digital platforms to boost transparency, fight corruption, and build citizen trust through open, accessible data. More here.

TAKEAWAYS

📘 Read how Athens’ (Greece) WeOpenGov Forum organized meetings and thematic workshops on energy democracy, housing, and accessibility, resulting in commitments that enhance citizen participation, open data, and social inclusion at the municipal level. More here.

📘 Explore Gyumri and Vanadzor’s (Armenia) experiences in engaging civil society in participatory budgeting and how Vanadzor improved accessibility information for people with mobility difficulties, through an interactive accessibility map. More here and here.

📘 Learn from Ternopil’s (Ukraine) experience with the “University of the Third Age” project, which trained over 500 people in digital skills and the city’s improvement of citizens’ access to information through a digital administrative and municipal services platform. More here.

📘 Discover how Kisela Voda (North Macedonia) improved efficiency and public trust by implementing a digital seal system allowing citizens to both request and receive official documents electronically, and strengthened citizen participation through questionnaires and consultations to select community projects like a new school science cabinet and a reconstructed playground. More here.

RESOURCES

📘 OGP Local, UNDP, and UCLG have joined forces to showcase how cities put open government principles into action to tackle local challenges and advance SDGs, through their campaign “Building Bridges, Empowering Citizens.” More here and here.

📘 Explore how local governments across Africa and the Middle East are translating open government values into tangible progress. This outcome document from the OGP Local Roundtable in Nairobi highlights inspiring reforms, emerging regional trends, and shared challenges about how transparency, participation, and accountability are driving inclusion, innovation, and trust at the local level. More here.

📘 Local governments demonstrate how AI is interacting with citizens’ daily lives. Explore key insights from our deep dive on local digital governance and AI, and check out the publication on local perspectives at the intersection of open government and AI. More here and here.

📘 Read about the New Democratic Pact for Europe, where local governments are playing a central role, highlighted by the Council of Europe and by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities’ Vice-President Bernd Vöhringer (Germany). More here and here.

📘 Listen to Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), on how future local leaders can contribute to shaping an inclusive world where everyone has a voice. More here.

Get Involved

EVENTS

🌐 Hundreds of local reformers joined the 2025 OGP Global Summit. Watch the one-minute recap and explore reflections from local members and partners—including Quintana Roo (Mexico), Madrid (Spain), Navarra (Spain), Yoff (Senegal), Travnik (Bosnia and Herzegovina), local authorities from Moldova, DEAN Initiative and Kaduna (Nigeria), and the Open Knowledge Foundation.

🌐 CoST launched its new Open Government Guidance Note during the OGP Global Summit, highlighting practical ways for OGP members to advance infrastructure transparency while celebrating CoST Kaduna’s launch of Nigeria’s first OC4IDS data portal. More here.

🌐 The Philippines’ Department of the Interior and Local Government officially launched the OGP Localization agenda at the OGP Global Summit, outlining efforts to embed open government values across 170 local governments nationwide. More here.

🌐 From November 4–6, 2025, Dakar, Senegal, will host the 6th International Forum on Participatory Democracy in Africa, bringing together cities, local governments, civil society, and citizens to co-create solutions for resilient, inclusive, and sovereign local governance. More here.

🌐 Join changemakers from around the world in Nairobi, Kenya (March 2–5, 2026) for People Powered 2026: Global Challenges, Participatory Solutions — a global convening on participatory democracy. Register by January 15. More here.

Open Gov Challenge

Congratulations to Open Gov Challenge awardees from OGP Local!
🇰🇪 Nandi (Kenya)
🇲🇦 Tangier (Morocco)
🇭🇷 Zagreb (Croatia)
🇲🇽 Nuevo León (México)
🇵🇭 Quezon City (Philippines)
🇦🇲Metsamor (Armenia)

Honorable mentions:
🇨🇴 Bogotá (Colombia)
🇦🇷 Córdoba Province (Argentina)
🇦🇷 Mendoza (Argentina)
🇨🇴 Santiago de Cali, (Colombia)
🇰🇪 Uasin Gishu County (Kenya)