Georgia on track to win Open Government Partnership Award

Georgia is being given the change to upgrade its international image as a country with modern, transparent and democratic approaches thanks to its involvement in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) international platform.

Yesterday the OGP announced Georgia had been shortlisted as one of three semi-finalists in the running for the inaugural Government Champions Award, chosen from nominees from 66 member states. The OGP said the Georgia candidate was the Inter-Factional Group of the Parliament of Georgia, nominated by local NGO Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI).

While offering its congratulations, OGP said the three semi-finalists were "solid examples of government teams and leaders going the extra mile to accommodate and invite civil society into the OGP process, often embracing a genuine co-creation methodology”. 

OGP is a multilateral initiative involving dozens of government and civil society organisations that launched in 2011 to make governments more open, accountable and responsive to citizens.

The Awards aimed to showcase the ideal collaborative relationship between a government and civil society while developing a National Action Plan – an obligation Georgia took in February 2015 when the Parliament of Georgia joined the OGP. 

Creation of a National Action Plan included drafting of amendments that would make the government’s actions more transparent and beneficial to citizens.  In Georgia, an 11-member Inter-Factional Working Group was established in the legislative body and tasked with developing the Open Parliament Georgia National Action Plan.

Georgian non-governmental organisation IFDI nominated the Inter-Factional Working Group for the OGP Award. In its nomination IDFI said the Group had made an "active input” in the creation of the National Action Plan and put forward commitments which Parliament was supposed to implement in 2015-2016.

The Inter-Factional Working Group has worked hand-in-hand with civil society organisations and safeguarded the initiatives stemming from the civil sector. Also, the IDFI provided OGP with a short summary and video showcasing the work and contribution of the Inter-Factional Group of the Parliament of Georgia,” said IDFI. 

The public can now vote for one of the three semi-finalists – from Georgia, Sierra Leone and Costa Rica – by watching the three video nominations or read their statements on the OGP website. Public voting is open until October 27. 

The winner will be announced and presented with the OGP Government Champions Award during the Civil Society Day on Tuesday, October 27 at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Mexico City.

To view the Georgian submission click here.