Local Roundup | November 2024

Here’s our monthly roundup of updates from the OGP Local community for November 2024. If you missed any of the previous roundups, you can find them here!

CO-CREATION OF OGP LOCAL ACTION PLANS

• Madiun (Indonesia) held a focus group discussion with stakeholders on local tourism, data consolidation, and school dropout reduction as part of the co-creation process for its first OGP Local action plan.
• Kakamega County (Kenya) held a workshop to discuss challenges in health, education, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability as part of the co-creation process for its first OGP Local action plan.
• The Oriental Region (Morocco) held a co-creation workshop, bringing together local actors, professors, and civil society representatives to develop its OGP Local action plan for 2025-2027.
• Yoff (Senegal) organized a workshop during the co-creation of its OGP Local Action Plan 2025-2027 to identify key objectives, such as enhancing civic participation, improving budget transparency, and fostering inclusion.
• Elgeyo Marakwet County (Kenya) convened civil society members, technical staff, and political leaders on October 22, 2024 to discuss the draft of their third OGP Local action plan (2024-2027).
• Representatives from Ouellé (Côte d’Ivoire) visited villages, neighborhoods, and camps within the commune to conduct public consultations for the co-creation of their 2024-2026 OGP Local Action Plan.

ADVANCING OPEN GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

• Vanadzor (Armenia) has launched an innovative online map highlighting accessible public buildings for people with disabilities, as part of their OGP commitment to promote inclusivity in the community.
• Dar Chaabane El Fehri (Tunisia) launched a public questionnaire to gather residents’ input on sustainable waste management projects to develop a comprehensive plan that improves waste collection, recycling, and partnerships for a cleaner future.
• Austin (United States) appointed student leaders from Austin Community College’s Center for Government and Civic Service as the monitoring body for the city’s third OGP action plan.

STRENGTHENING NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS

• Local members gathered at the OGP Local Camp in Indonesia, organized by the National Secretariat of Open Government, to build capacity for OGP Local action plan implementation and learning and strengthen local governments’ transparency, accountability, and collaboration.
• South Cotabato (Philippines) shared its experience in the OGP Local program with new members and DIGL regional officers from across the country. 
• OGP Local members were among 126 local governments in Morocco that participated at the National Conference on Open Local Governments organized by the Ministry of Interior, with the support of PAGOF. During the conference, participants engaged in workshops on citizen participation, communication, monitoring, and networking.
• OGP Local continues its efforts to strengthen open government ecosystems by hosting meetings with key stakeholders from Ecuador, Uruguay, Ghana, and Tunisia, aiming to foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and mutual support within each country.
• Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas (Ecuador) and Mendoza (Argentina) shared innovative open government practices to accelerate sustainability and climate action during a webinar organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Hamburg (Germany) met with Kosovo’s Minister of Local Governance and Administration and Head of Digitalization to discuss digital transformation in municipal services and share how the OGP Local process can support it. 

PARTNER COLLABORATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Join the Africa-MENA Network of Open Local Governments’ first open online session on Infrastructure Transparency. The session will be led by Kaduna State, Nigeria, on Monday, December 9. Register here! 
• Last chance to apply to People Powered acceleration programs! Check out the different opportunities to receive support in designing and implementing participatory programs and apply before November 24! 
• Applications are now open for the 2025 Global Mayors Challenge, which invites cities with over 100,000 residents to reimagine essential services like transportation, waste management, housing, and more. The 25 winning cities will receive $1 million, project staff, and multi-year support. Apply by December 20, 2024!
• Attend the launch of World Justice Project EUROVOICES on November 26. This new rule of law research initiative provides uniquely comprehensive and granular data on the state of democracy, justice, and accountability across the European Union (EU).

MEET THE OPEN GOV CHALLENGE

In the lead-up to Children’s Day, we invite you to implement frameworks that better involve children and adolescents in decision-making. For example, Maipú (Chile) created a Governance Roundtable aimed at engaging children and adolescents in the planning of public spaces and Nuevo León (México) established the Children and Teenager Participation Commission to discuss public problems.