Expanding Open Government Opportunities In Asia-Pacific

31 countries will participate in the first Open Government Partnership Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on May 6-7, hosted by the Government of Indonesia in Bali. For a region with over 60% of the world’s population, the conference is a tremendous opportunity to illustrate how opening up government is less a technocratic exercise than a means to improving citizen’s lives by making governments work better. 

The goals of the conference are two-fold: First, over 500 open government reformers from the region will gather to connect, share, and learn about experiences in the region. By showcasing innovative approaches, and providing the space to exchange ideas and expertise between government and civil society, the conference will help advance open government reforms in the region. Second, the Asia-Pacific region remains underrepresented in OGP. There are many eligible countries that have not yet joined and the meeting will be a major opportunity to explain to them the benefits of joining OGP. For countries that are not yet eligible the meeting will illustrate the benefits of opening government and will highlight the opportunities presented by participating in a growing international multi-stakeholder platform.

The packed two-day agenda is designed around the theme of innovation in citizen engagement, featuring government and civil society voices on a variety of open government topics. The first day of the program will focus on strengthening the enabling environment for open government reforms to take hold. The second day will highlight successful examples and challenges of implementing innovative government- and community-driven solutions to making governments more transparent and accountable to citizens. This will include a set of lightning talks from the main stage that will profile some of the most exciting projects in the region.

If you can’t make it to Bali, follow the conference on our website at http://www.opengovpartnership.org, watch out for the livestream links and follow the conversation using #OGPBali at @opengovpart and @opengovindo. We want to hear from you.