The city of Vinnytsia was chosen to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an organization that brings together power structures and civil society leaders to create more transparent, politically balanced, and participatory governance. As a new member of the OGP, Vinnytsia City will work with the civil society organizations and other members of the OGP to promote the open government agenda at the local level and improve government services to its residents.
Vinnytsia City Mayor Serhii Morhunov supported joining the Partnership: “We are convinced that the introduction of democratic open government is vital at the local level, given that this is where the local authorities are the closest to their citizens. Moreover, residents can participate in decision-making processes and thus feel an integral part of their community. As part of the global OGP community, we will be able to work with international colleagues by learning from their experiences, as well as promoting open government with our best practices”.
Civil society organizations and local authorities advocate open government approaches through access to public information, work with citizens’ appeals and complaints, implementation of electronic petitions, conducting open public discussions, supporting local initiatives through the Budget of Public Initiatives and financial support of civil society institutions. As a new member of the Open Government Partnership, Vinnytsia City Amalgamated Territorial Community in partnership with civil society will continue to build open government, taking into account the experience gained from the other OGP members.
The Open Government Partnership invites another 55 new members from 64 local authorities from 32 countries to join the OGP. This is the largest in the history of OGP expansion at a critical time, whereas cities and local communities are at the forefront of COVID-19 response efforts and face limited budget challenges and the dangers of climate change. 56 new members were selected from 112 applications.
OGP Executive Director Sanjay Pradhan welcomed the accession of new members to the Partnership: “Local leaders – in local government and civil society – are mostly the closest to the people they serve. Open local self-government can transform people’s lives and strengthen trust”.
According to the OGP and selected by the Selection Committee, which consists of members of the OGP Steering Committee, local OGP members and civil society representatives, Vinnytsia City Amalgamated Territorial Community was selected on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in the competition, and other factors, such as meeting the needs of regionally diverse groups, with different types and sizes of organizations, and with unique strengths that complement the OGP’s goals.
In 2020, the OGP received more than 100 joint applications from authorities and local civil society organizations expressing interest in joining the OGP. All applicants were invited to join the OGP community of practitioners, to contribute to the development of the OGP knowledge base on open government at the local level and participate in an equal exchange of experiences to expand reforms at the national and local levels by all the OGP members.
About the OGP:
In 2011, the local government leaders and civil society came together to create a unique partnership that brings together these powerful forces to promote accountable, open and inclusive governance.
Seventy-eight countries and a growing number of local governments, representing more than two billion people, along with thousands of civil society organizations, are members of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
