National Pre-OGP annual Summit events as a way to bring more local voice into the upcoming Summit in Mexico

One of the most important events of the year that is going to take place under the auspices of the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) is the upcoming annual Summit in Mexico in October 2015. OGP is gaining more momentum with its regional meetings and is being promoted by more Heads of State as a valuable platform for leveraging national initiatives around transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, the rule of law, open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... or citizen engagement.

However it is also very important for us in OGP to ensure that the voices of key stakeholders in our 65 member countries are being heard – that they also have a say in the global, open government agenda. One of the ways to do that is to encourage various stakeholders to come together before the summit, meet in their respective countries and share the challenges they face in implementing open government principles, look into the good practices around the world when it comes to transparency, citizen engagement, open data, Freedom of Information, civil space, or any other and identify solutions or proposals that might be valuable for others in OGP as well.   

In line with the above, countries are encouraged to join the informal “national Pre-Summit events initiative” by hosting discussions on important open government related issues prior to the Summit in Mexico.  These country level events can indeed provide an opportunity to participants from OGP participating countries to contribute to the discussions that will take place during the biannual Summit, especially to those who are not going to be there in person. More specifically, national pre-events could bring more “local perspectives” into the issues addressed during the Summit, as well as more inclusiveness and dialogue.

Key take away from these country discussions will be capitalized as part of country event reports and shared with the moderators of different workshops/sessions, as well as with members of the OGP Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru.... The idea is to encourage organizers and moderators, experts and panelists ground their presentations and interventions on the realities in our OGP member countries.

What do you need for this? An active person or organization willing to organize these discussions at the country level – someone who has OGP at heart and who understands that OGP is all about people and that people’s voice matters regardless of whether it is a Global Summit or a country event.

Just to share an example: we, at the Open Government Institute in Moldova, will organize an event in late September and will make sure that issues we are currently facing in terms of implementing the open government agenda in Moldova are going to be heard both by our government and also be addressed during the Global Summit.   

The more events of this type we are going to have in OGP, the more local voices we are going to bring to the Summit this year. Join us! Let’s make it happen!!!

For those interested in hosting a national pre-event, there is a proposed methodology which can serve as a resource in designing your own events. It can be found at the annex to this post. Additionally, feel free to contact Veronica Cretu at veronicacretu@gmail.com for any questions.  

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons.

Annex: National Pre-OGP Annual Summit Framework/Proposed approach

What is a national pre-event in the context of OGP Annual Summit?

It is an ‘evocation’ or ‘anticipation’ national event for the Annual OGP Summit;
It is an in-country event organized in an OGP member country;
It can last from 3 hrs. to a full day dedicated to Open Government issues;
It can bring together around 35-40 participants;
It is organized 3-4 weeks prior to the OGP Annual Summit;
It brings together different stakeholders involved or interested in the Open Government Agenda at country level (civil society, government, academia, private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More, youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More, others);
It discusses themes introduced at the Annual Summit from the local perspective;
It contributes to more  awareness about Open Government related issues, fosters networking among different stakeholders involved in Open Government Agenda at country level, comes with opinions, recommendations or specific questions on certain Summit related issues/workshops;
The results of national pre-events are shared with Summit organizers, and input from these events is addressed during the Summit’s meetings or working sessions;
The results are made public via the OGP platform (reports/feedback via social media or video materials produced as a result of these meetings);

Why organize a national pre-event in the context of the OGP Annual Summit?

It provides participants in OGP member countries with opportunities to learn more about the Summit and issues that are going to be addressed during the Summit;
It provides participants in OGP member countries with opportunities to share their opinions, questions, and specific recommendations;
It brings more visibility to in-country efforts around Open Government;
It motivates participants in OGP member countries to follow the work of the Summit via the webcast during the Summit dates (should remote participation facilities be available), get answers to their questions, learn from new experiences, and be more prepared for remote participation;  
It contributes to building in a ‘culture’ of remote participation and remote contributions to the global debate on Open Government (again, should remote participation facilities be available);

How can you organize a national pre-event?

Identify a leader/focal point/moderator (s) in your country;
Identify potential partners (civil society organizations, Governmental Agencies, development partners);
Identify volunteers who might be interested to provide support in disseminating news about the national pre-event agenda/details, send invitations, collect feedback or input received during the discussions,  video-record interviews with participants, prepare a short video for the OGP Blog, etc.;
Share with OGP Peer Learning and Support Subcommittee about your intention to organize a national pre-event and the preliminary date for it so that your event can be promoted among the 65 OGP countries.   

What would a preliminary agenda for a national pre-event event look like?