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Everyone Has A Story. Together We Have A Mission.

Todas las personas tienen una historia. Juntas y juntos tenemos una misión

Tout le monde a une histoire. Ensemble, nous avons une mission.

Stephanie Bluma|

We all have a story about how democracy has affected our lives, our families and friends, our communities, our countries, and the world at large. Far too many of us also have stories about how ongoing democratic regression has impacted their freedoms, their homes and even their lives. Many of these stories are inspiring. Many are heart-breaking. 

Collectively they are helping to mobilize all of us on the critical mission to renew core democratic values.  And they are showing that there is a more hopeful, more open way forward. 

Over the past five years, Open Gov Week has celebrated the doers, thinkers, and creators through 1,300 events – assemblies, debates, hackathons and even a parade or two – in more than 70 countries. Together, we have worked to connect reformers in and out of government, share lessons learned, and push for more ambitious action plans.

This year, we want to do a bit more. In addition to events on and offline, we want to collect and share how the open government movement – even in challenging times – is aligned and how our stories can be a bright spot for the world.

Across our Partnership, reformers are also showing what the better version of democracy looks like. Reformers like those in Argentina who are fighting against gender-based violence, those in North Macedonia who are standing up to discrimination, those in Colombia and the Republic of Moldova who are using open government approaches to help turn the tide against COVID-19. The citizens in the Republic of Korea fighting corruption and pushing for policy change, the parents in the Philippines who are improving the schools and clinics their kids need. The champions in South Africa opening up public budgets and in Nigeria ending anonymous companies. The students in Italy who are fighting for better use of EU funds to improve their communities. The advocates in the United States who fought for the voices of those experiencing homelessness. 

Here is what we ask of you. We launched OpenStories in 2021 to start to collect stories of impact across the Partnership. Today it hosts more than 50 examples, but we know there are more out there. We also know everyone is busy and submitting your story takes time. So this Open Gov Week, we are going to lend a hand. 

Your Story. Short” is a new story generation tool that will help you quickly share what you are working on right now. You’ll respond to a few key cues and questions, and the OGP editorial team will take it from there. We will review your submission and invite you and your team to a special series of storytelling workshops where we will show how your initial submission can turn into a longer form story. OGP will also select the 10 best submissions developed during the workshops and co-create them in partnership with you. These stories will be featured on OpenStories, on social media, and in upcoming regional and global events. 

We hope you will join us in making sure all your stories are heard. And, let’s show everyone that we are connected and committed to raising our voices in support of each other and the larger mission to renew democracy for all.

Open Government Partnership