ParlAmericas participated in the 5th Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Tbilisi, Georgia
On July 17-19, the Government of Georgia hosted the 5th OGP Global Summit in Tbilisi Georgia. A ParlAmericas delegation participated in this Summit, which provided an excellent opportunity for leaders from OGP’s 75 participating countries and beyond to exchange ideas on how they are making their governments more transparent, accountable and responsive to citizens.
A Parliamentary Meeting was hosted by the Parliament of Georgia on July 17, where parliamentary delegations gathered to discuss the OGP’s legislative engagement policy, exchange best practices to strengthen parliamentary transparency and accountability, and explore innovative technologies to modernize parliamentary work. Senator Blanca Ovelar (Paraguay), President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network participated in High-Level Talks where she discussed the current status of parliamentary openness in the Americas. “We have to move forward by consolidating an open and inclusive culture that allows us to confront inequalities and build a world where there is social justice” declared Senator Ovelar.
The Summit continued on July 18-19 with sessions covering topics such as civic engagement, anti-corruption and public service delivery among others. In a session on Working with Parliaments to Strengthen Oversight of Service Delivery and National Action Plans, Member of Parliament Randy Boissonnault (Canada), Vice-President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network for North America, presented the positive impacts that efforts undertaken through OGP are having on parliaments. “Through OGP, many countries in the Americas are working to improve transparency and access to public information. These efforts are contributing to narrowing the gap of information between governments and parliaments, which is crucial to strengthening parliaments’ oversight functions” stated Mr. Boissonnault.
ParlAmericas, along with its partners, is pleased to announce that the Open Parliament e-Network (OPeN) was launched within the framework of this Summit. Through this initiative, we join Directorio Legislativo, the Latin American Legislative Transparency Network, the National Democratic Institute, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to form OPeN and enhance collaboration to support the growing number of opportunities to strengthen the legislative openness movement.
For further information, visit https://openparliamentenetwork.squarespace.com/.
