(AGENPARL) – ven 07 ottobre 2022 MEDIA ADVISORY
The Governments of Italy and Estonia to Co-host the Open Government Partnership Europe Regional Meeting in Rome
On October 11-12, the Governments of Italy and Estonia will co-host the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Europe Regional Meeting in Rome. Coming at a critical time when democracy is under unprecedented threat from attacks both external, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and internal, such as plummeting citizens trust in government, the Europe Regional Meeting will bring together reformers who are renewing democracy in and out of governments to make them more transparent, inclusive, participatory and accountable.
During the opening plenary of the Europe Regional Meeting, the Government of Italy and Aidan Eyakuze (Twaweza) will hand over the leadership of the OGP Steering Committee to the Government of Estonia and Anabel Cruz (Institute for Communication and Development Uruguay) as the new Co-Chairs.
Among the 250 guests who have registered are ministers, hundreds of civil society leaders and influential reformers from the region. There will be keynote speeches, panels and workshops addressing the role of open government in crucial international issues like anti-corruption, digital innovation, and democratic participation.
The opening plenary will be live-streamed through OGP social media channels in English, Italian and Ukrainian on October 11. A provisional agenda is available here and will be updated as the agenda is finalized.
WHO
Paola Pisano, Adviser for Digital Economy and Technological Innovation, Government of Italy: @PaolaPisano77, @GovernoItaliaTaimar Peterkop, Secretary of State, Government Office of Estonia, Government of Estonia: @EstonianGovt Paola Caporossi, Co-founder and ad honorem President, Fondazione Etica: @paolacaporossiSanjay Pradhan, CEO, Open Government Partnership: @SPradhanOGP, @opengovpart Aidan Eyakuze, Executive Director, Twaweza, East Africa: @aeyakuze, @Twaweza_NiSisiAnabel Cruz, Founder and Director of the Institute for Communication and Development in Uruguay: @CruzAnabel @ICD_UruguayWHEN
October 11-12, 2022.
WHERE
Rome, Italy.
ABOUT THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP
In 2011, government leaders and civil society advocates came together to create a unique partnership—one that combines these powerful forces to promote accountable, responsive and inclusive governance.
Seventy-seven countries and a growing number of local governments—representing more than two billion people—along with thousands of civil society organizations are members of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
MAIN SESSIONS
October 11, 9:30 – 9:45 AM | Opening Remarks
Paola Pisano, Adviser for Digital Economy and Technological Innovation, Government of Italy: @PaolaPisano77, @GovernoItaliaTaimar Peterkop, Secretary of State, Government Office of Estonia, Government of Estonia: @EstonianGovt Paola Caporossi, Co-founder and ad honorem President, Fondazione Etica: @paolacaporossiOctober 11, 9:45 – 10:00 AM | Keynote
OGP’s CEO will deliver a keynote speech to frame the OGP Europe Regional Meeting discussions, focusing on regional context, and expectations and outputs of the meeting.
Sanjay Pradhan, CEO, Open Government Partnership: @SPradhanOGP, @opengovpart October 11, 10:00 – 11:15 AM | Dialogue 1: Upholding Democratic Values Through Open Government
Europe is home to more than two-thirds of the world’s liberal democracies, according to the V-Dem Institute’s Democracy Report 2022. However, the same report found that democracy has weakened in all but a select few of these countries over the past ten years. While the causes are multi-faceted and often country-specific, the report also identified common threads including increasing polarization driven by online misinformation and disinformation, corporate secrecy shaped by the few and inaccessible to the many, and a widespread failure to meaningfully involve the public in decision-making.
During the same 10 years where democracy has been in decline globally, and in Europe, OGP has grown to include 77 national, 106 local members, and thousands of civil society organizations, collaborating to deliver almost 5000 open government reforms to date. Other mechanisms include the 2017 adoption of the OECD Recommendation on Open Government, which paved the way to a harmonized design and implementation of open government policies. This dialogue will explore whether and how open government mechanisms and reforms can rise to meet the major challenges to democratic values in Europe and beyond.
Moderator: Jon Alexander, Director, New Citizenship Project: @jonjalex, @NewCitProjZuzana Wienk, Director, OGP’s Steering Committee, Bystriny: @ZuzanaWienkOctober 11, 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM Dialogue 2: Upholding Democratic Values Through Open Government (Hand Over of the OGP Co-Chairs)
Paola Pisano and Aidan Eyakuze will reflect on the discussions arising from the first dialogue on Upholding Democratic Values through Open Government, in the context of their Co-chair term of the OGP Steering Committee. Taimar Peterkop and Anabel Cruz will then chart a way forward for their upcoming Co-chair term, with a focus on the development of the new strategy for OGP, and the role of the Partnership in upholding democratic values.
Moderator: Jon Alexander, Director, New Citizenship Project: @jonjalex, @NewCitProjAidan Eyakuze, Executive Director, Twaweza, East Africa: @aeyakuze, @Twaweza_NiSisiTaimar Peterkop, Secretary of State, Government Office of Estonia, Government of Estonia: @EstonianGovt Paola Pisano, Adviser for Digital Economy and Technological Innovation, Government of Italy: @PaolaPisano77, @GovernoItaliaAnabel Cruz, Founder and Director of the Institute for Communication and Development in Uruguay: @CruzAnabel @ICD_UruguayOctober 11, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Open Government For Reconstruction And Recovery in Ukraine
Despite the Russian war against Ukraine still raging on, the international community and Ukrainians themselves are actively planning reconstruction efforts. Trust among all stakeholders is crucial for a successful and efficient recovery. To achieve this level of trust, the reconstruction process should be developed in an open, transparent, and accountable manner, free from corruption, and in constant coordination among all the stakeholders. This dialogue will focus on how stakeholders are already using open governance practices in planning and recovery efforts, practical tools that are being developed to ensure accountability, and emerging coalitions supporting an open reconstruction and recovery.
Moderator: Anastasiya Kozlovtseva, Program Officer, Eastern Partnership, Open Government Partnership: @nastia_kozlov, @opengovpart #EU4Integrity
Julda Kielyte, Team Leader, Socio-Economic & Fiscal Reforms, Support Group for Ukraine, European Commission: @EU_NEAR, @EU_CommissionAndrii Borovyk, Executive Director, Transparency International Ukraine (RISE UA coalition): @Borovyk_UA, @transparencyUA, @TI_Ukraine_eng, @RISE_Ukraine_Viktor Nestulia, Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Open Contracting Partnership: @nestulia, @OpenContracting,
Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Infrastructure: @minfrastructureOleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director, Association of Ukrainian Cities
October 11, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | How Can Open Government Help Tackle Disinformation?
Events like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have demonstrated that the spread of disinformation threatens the free and fact-based exchange of information that underpins democracy and trust in public institutions.
Many open government reforms can help to promote a healthy information ecosystem, including promoting high standards of public discourse; strengthening the independence and transparency of news media, ensuring the transparency and accountability of social media platforms; and supporting fact-checking, civic education, citizen dialogue and other counters to disinformation. This session will explore these reforms and the opportunities and challenges of tackling disinformation.
Alessandra De Marco, Director of Communication and Public Information, Government of Italy @Palazzo_ChigiLiana Doydoyan, FOI Expert, Freedom of Information Center of Armenia
Asha Allen, Center for Democracy and Technology @AshaOAllen @CDTEUHolger Roonema, Eesti Ekspress @holger_r October 11, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Tackling Kleptocracy and Dark Money Through Open Government Tools
Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to the strong global reckoning of kleptocracy, with the European Union and the UK imposing targeted sanctions on Kremlin-linked corrupt oligarchs. However, denying safe haven to ill-gotten wealth requires more active transparency measures and coordinated multilateral efforts to trace, freeze and seize assets stored in European countries.
Beneficial ownership transparency has emerged as an important tool in the fight against illicit financial flows, corruption, and tax evasion, with more than 30 countries in OGP committing to reforms in this area. The panel will focus on using beneficial ownership registers in ending anonymous companies as vehicles for hiding dark money, and will identify current loopholes/challenges for effective seizure and return of ill-gotten assets.
Ilya Lozovsky, Editor, OCCRP @ichbinelya @OCCRPItalo Borrello, Director, Financial Intelligence Unit Bank of Italy @bancaditaliaAndrej Leontiev, Managing Partner, Taylor Wessing @TaylorWessingMaira Martini, Knowledge Coordinator, Transparency International @anticorruptionNataliia Chernogub, GR Manager, YouControl Ukraine @ItsYouControlFor more information about the agenda of the OGP Europe Regional Meeting, visit this website.
OGP Co-Chairs
The Government of Italy (current)
Aidan Eyakuze, Twaweza (current)
Aidan Eyakuze is the Executive Director of Twaweza East Africa. Twaweza works to enable children to learn, citizens to exercise agency and governments to be more open and responsive in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
In May 2016, Aidan joined the OGP Steering Committee as a civil society member. Aidan is currently serving as the incoming civil society co-chair (2020-2021) and will be the lead civil society co-chair 2021-2022.
In June 2017, he was appointed to the Board of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD).
Before joining Twaweza, Aidan was Associate Regional Director of the Society for International Development (SID) and Head of the SID Tanzania office. He has 15 years of experience as a scenario practitioner, through participation in national scenario-building projects in Kenya (2000 & 2010), Tanzania (2003), South Africa (2004), Nigeria (2007) and East Africa (2005-2008). He co-lead the publication of the State of East Africa Reports and facilitated futures thinking for private sector, civil society and public organizations.
Aidan is an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow and a Board Member of the African Leadership Institute (South Africa). He is also a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) and served on the Governing Board of the Millennium Challenge Account (Tanzania) until August 2014. He maintains a keen intellectual and professional interest in economic policy, financial markets and trends in information and communications technologies and their impact on society.
Aidan is the current Lead Co-Chair of the OGP Steering Committee, and member of the OGP Board of Directors.