GOVERNANCE, ADMINISTRATIVE INNOVATIONS TO BE RECOGNIZED

 

ON PUBLIC SERVICE DAY, 23 JUNE, AT UNITED NATIONS

 

Simultaneous Celebrations Highlighting

Public Management Contributions to Be Held across World

Eight pioneering projects from the developing and developed world will be honoured this week with the prestigious Public Service Awards 2005 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  With good governance a prerequisite in ensuring sustained development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, this year’s Awards focus on innovative projects that prioritize accountability, service delivery, transparency and the inventive use of e-governance.

The Awards ceremony will be held on 23 June, also recognized globally as the United Nations Public Service Day celebrating service to the community at the local, national and global levels.  The event will be held in Conference Room 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. This will be followed by a technical panel on “Innovation and Successful Initiatives in the Delivery of Services” in the afternoon.

Speaking about the Awards, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, José Antonio Ocampo, said:  “The United Nations Public Service Awards recognize groundbreaking institutional efforts to make services more efficient and accessible to all members of society and to engage people’s active participation in their design.  This event serves to showcase and share, in a global setting, novel models of governance that are being practised in different parts of the world.”

The Awards initiative has become a pivotal tool in disseminating information on successful experiences and best practices in good governance geared towards citizens’ satisfaction and development, in particular, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  Equally important, it has enhanced the visibility and motivation of public servants around the world.

This year’s selection process for the Awards was marked by an overwhelming response from around the world which brought in 215 nominations.  A total of eight nominees doing innovative work at rural and urban areas were selected from six countries -- Canada (The Vancouver Agreement and Industry Canada, Office of Consumer Affairs), India (Bhagidari Cell, Office of the Chief Minister, Delhi), Mexico (Secretaria de Agua, Obra Publica e Infrastructura para el Desarrollo and Unidad de Gobierno Electrónico y Política de Technologías de la Información), Morocco (Autonomous Establishment of Exports Control and Coordination), Singapore (Ministry of Trade and Industry), and Spain (Public Employment Service of Castile and Leon).

The General Assembly in 2002 established 23 June as the United Nations Public Service Day, and it has now come to be observed widely by Member States.  The Headquarters event will be attended by the General Assembly President Jean Ping, Under-Secretary-General José Antonio Ocampo, Award winners and delegates and will include videoconferencing with selected countries celebrating the Day.

The United Nations Division for Public Administration and Development Management is responsible for administering the Awards and promoting the Public Service Day.  The Division assists governments in strengthening policy-making and improving the efficiency of their governance systems through disseminating information, delivering technical assistance and providing an international forum for the exchange of national experiences.

For background information on Public Service Day and Awards, please visit: http://www.unpan.org/dpepa_psaward.asp; or contact:  Yolande Jemiai, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, tel: +1- 212-963-8395, e-mail: jemiai@un.org.

To arrange interviews with award winners and UN officials, please contact: Oisika Chakrabarti, UN Department of Public Information, tel: +1- 212-963-8264,  e-mail: chakrabarti@un.org.

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