US and Brazil Launch Initiative for Open Governments

NEW YORK— Heads of states and high representatives of 46 countries officially launched the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on Tuesday in New York. OGP is a cooperation venture between governments and civil society to advance open government worldwide.

The governments present officially committed themselves to working for increased transparency, accountability and citizen participation at the inaugural event hosted by President Barack Obama and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. In addition to OGP’s eight founding nations—United States, Brazil, Norway, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa and the U.K.—38 more have now joined and were represented at the event, as were nine civil society organizations.

Meanwhile, at Google’s New York office, experts and activists explored and explained the concept of open government.

“Open government” is an umbrella term for various things, such as increased transparency, responsiveness and accountability, anti-corruption initiatives, and increased citizen participation in government. Often, but not always, these measures are facilitated or made possible by modern information technologies, open systems, and innovative apps.

In his opening address, President Obama, who initiated the partnership a little over a year ago, called open government “the essence of democracy,” and expressed hope that more countries would join the OGP and commit to its principles.

He also emphasized that the civil society organizations in the growing and diverse OGP network are not spectators, “but equal partners in this initiative.”

“This, I believe, is how progress will be achieved in the 21st century—meeting global challenges through global cooperation, across all levels of society,” he said.

At Google New York, the event launch was more work oriented, with a series of speeches, panel discussions and networking events.

During the event, called “The Power of Open,” the transformative potential of open government was exemplified by stories from politicians, industry leaders, academics and activists.

In panel debates during the session, the advantages and pitfalls of making all kinds of government data not only accessible but also intelligible and usable, as well as getting citizens more involved in the way their country is run, was explored.

On the life-altering end of the spectrum, Karin Lissakers of the Revenue Watch Institute told the audience how introducing economic transparency in a poor but resource-rich developing country like Guinea was actually helping to make sure that wealth is now properly distributed for the good of the people.

On the more mundane, but not necessarily less revolutionary end, Nigel Shadbolt, the founder of data.gov.uk showed examples of how citizens in the U.K., through the linking of openly available data in an open system, are both helping the government and being helped themselves, on a very local level.

Small things, like pot holes in the road or missing bus stops can be easily reported with the system, and creative users can themselves program apps from extant data sets to easily compare the quality of nursing homes or how much council tax people in different areas pay.

With the launch of the OGP, its official website, opengovpartnership.org was also brought online, where more background information about the initiative, its member states and organizations, principles and how it works can be found.