Editor’s Note: Many articles were published during and after the Open Government Partnership summit in Mexico City Oct. 26-29. Here are some. Submissions welcome.
OGP: Transparency International says the Open Government Partnership needs to ensue that member countries involve civil society, and apply sanctions when countries fail to meet their commitments, among other things, according to a press release.
OGP: “In my view, press freedom should not be an aspirational goal, but rather a sine qua non for OGP participation,” writes Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
OGP: The Sunlight Foundation’s Júlia Keser? writes that countries without FOI laws should not be granted membership in the Open Government Partnership.
OGP: “As I celebrate my first anniversary I am astounded by what this multi stakeholder initiative has accomplished during its four short years – from 8 countries to 69, support at the highest levels of government, 2,500 total commitments and 109 action plans so far,” writes Sangita Sigdyal, OGP’s Director of Operations.
OGP: A report by Gabriella Razzano and Steven Gruzd of the South African Institute International Affairs makes the case for more African countries to join the OGP.
OGP: “OGP Summit ends with backslapping, but the real achievement was providing space for dissenters” is the headline on an article by Carol Morgan of Making All Voices Count.
OGP: Asia Foundation representatives at the OGP summit describe their experiences. “At the Summit, I heard one participant ask that we shift from speaking about open data to open knowledge, which resonated as there is such a wide range of applications for the concept,” says Mark Koenig, associate director of the Foundation’s Program Strategy, Innovation, and Learning (PSIL) unit.
OGP: The OGP summit “featured too much political theater and too little accountability,” according to journalist Alex Howard, pointing out that Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who resigned Nov. 4, was a major speaker, had juts ben indicted on corruption charges.
Speech: Text of speech at the summit by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the country assuming the lead co-chairmanship of the OGP. (See FreedomInfo.org article.)
FreedomInfo.org Coverage: See other FreedomInfo.org reporting on the OGP here.
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