Background
ECLAC considers that open government is key to assuming and responding to the multiple challenges that the Region faces today, placing the equality and dignity of people at the center of a model that energizes and promotes trust, both in public institutions and citizens and among themselves. This is a change in the work culture of public administrations, and a change in the role of citizens, through active involvement in the affairs of their own community.
In this context, local governments play a fundamental role in promoting active and sustained participation of citizens in the process of producing public value. In the territory, the application of open government values allows us to strengthen trust, dialogue and collaboration between different actors to achieve common well-being objectives.
Given that subnational and local levels are a key element in generating the consensus and policies necessary to promote the environmental sustainability of development and address the climate emergency, the open government approach in local public management can be transformative. In particular, many of the initiatives aimed at climate action under the principles of open government occur at subnational scales, since, at that scale, it is where governments can collaborate with citizens in a more direct and close way. The creation of spaces and mechanisms for participation, transparency and accountability to promote innovations and linked reforms aimed at accelerating climate action allows the inhabitants of the territories to have a greater impact on public policies, programs and projects that affect their lives. everyday. In this sense, a policy, co-created by a diversity of actors, will enjoy greater social support for its implementation.
Open government has enormous potential to accelerate climate action through greater access to data, transparency and public participation in the development and implementation of climate policies in countries. The modalities of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), working groups made up of government and civil society and open government plans also co-created between governments and society, make it possible to ensure that climate policies are more effective and have citizen support for its implementation.
With the aim of delving deeper into these issues, the Latin American and Caribbean Development Planning Network held an asynchronous discussion forum during August, September and October 2024, which aimed to generate debate on the potential of open government to promote environmental sustainability of development.
This Webinar seeks to present the reflections shared through the forum and encourage conversation regarding the role of open government as an accelerator of climate action and learn about some good practices of local initiatives developed within the framework of the Alliance for Open Government.
The call is aimed at both members of the ILPES/ECLAC Planning Network and professionals and public servants interested in these topics.
Questions that guided the debate
- How do you relate the challenges of development sustainability and climate action to the open government paradigm?
- Do you know of any initiative within the framework of a local open government plan or action that resolves an environmental problem in a territory? Can you comment on what the co-creation process with the community was like? What were the main challenges of that process?
- What are the biggest challenges that you see in implementing environmental initiatives supported by the axes of open government (transparency, participation and collaboration) in a territory?
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