SA celebrates five years of Open Government Partnership

Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma will host the five-year anniversary event of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 20 September 2016.

The event will also serve as a platform for the official handover of the position of Lead Chair of the OGP by South Africa. It will be attended by Heads of State and Government, civil society leaders and others stakeholders who have been instrumental to OGP’s success so far.

South Africa assumed the position of Lead Chair of the Partnership at the Mexico Summit in October 2015.

Since eight Heads of State and Government partnered with nine civil society leaders to launch the Open Government Partnership on the margins of UN General Assembly in 2011, this partnership has grown to 70 governments and thousands of civil society organisations across the world, with over 3 000 specific commitments to increase transparency and accountability of governments and to improve public participation.

During its tenure as Lead Chair of this global partnership, South Africa championed the Open Government Declaration on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which will see OGP member countries incorporating Sustainable Development Goals in their OGP country action plans.

South Africa also prioritised legislative openness, open data, and broadening civil society participation to include grass root organisation and vulnerable groups within the OGP.

The fifth anniversary event will include participation of youth representatives who will share their perspectives on the future of the OGP. It will reflect on the momentum and scale of achievements and commitments that have been made through OGP and will encourage participants to address a number of challenges the partnership faces over the next five years.

The anniversary will also serve as a moment to pay tribute to Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United State as the founding countries of the Open Government Partnership.