Gwangju City Calls for Proposals on Open Government Partnership Implementation Plan Agenda

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 18th that it will solicit proposals for the 'Open Government Partnership (OGP) Action Plan,' which is proposed and implemented by citizens themselves.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral international cooperation body that was launched in 2011 following former U.S. President Obama's speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2010, aiming to enhance government transparency, anti-corruption, and citizen participation through public-private governance.

Currently, 78 countries, 76 cities, and civil society organizations are active members, and South Korea joined in 2011 and currently serves as the chair country.

Gwangju City was confirmed as a member city last October, becoming the second city in South Korea after Seoul in 2016.

This solicitation is for full participation in the Open Government Partnership program, where the entire process from establishing to implementing the action plan is carried out in collaboration with civil society, and the progress is disclosed to both citizens and member countries.

The proposal areas include ▲Digital Green New Deal ▲Digital Governance ▲Gender ▲Protection of Marginalized Communities ▲Public Service Delivery ▲Right to Know, covering six fields that enhance the core values of the Open Government Partnership such as transparency, accountability, citizen participation and inclusion, and technological innovation. Proposals must be concrete and sustainable initiatives that can be promoted by Gwangju City.

The implementation period is one year and five months until June next year, as the 2021 Open Government Partnership local government program requires establishing implementation tasks that can be carried out within the term of local government heads.

Detailed information can be found on the city’s website citizen communication platform ‘BaroSotong Gwangju,’ and submissions are only possible through the BaroSotong Gwangju OGP webpage from the 22nd of this month to the 3rd of next month.

One or two proposals that will lead changes in the local community will be selected. Submitted proposals will be reviewed by relevant departments for topic suitability, relevance to open government values, and whether they are one-time complaint-type suggestions. After the first review by the Citizen Rights Committee, the final decision will be made through a citizen vote via BaroSotong’s ‘We Ask the Citizens’ platform.

Joo Jae-hee, the city’s Innovation Communication Planning Officer, said, “In the rapidly changing world due to COVID-19, open administration through active communication with citizens plays an important role in overcoming crises. Through this year’s newly started OGP participation, we will listen more closely to citizens’ voices and practice together on the ground to create an open, citizen-centered Gwangju.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.