Manama: An Indian initiative allowing citizens to air their grievances directly to the Chief Minister and to get timely answers regarding the provision of public services at the state level will be rewarded by the United Nations this week, UN officials in Bahrain said.
The organisation behind the initiative will be one of 23 institutions from around the world to receive awards on Public Service Day on June 23 in recognition of their excellence in public service, as well as their creative achievements in developing more effective and responsive public administrations, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Manama said in a statement.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his message, said that "through this year's United Nations Public Service Awards competition, we can see that innovation is thriving throughout the world."
Among the winners is a programme enabling Italian secondary students and their teachers to be actively involved in the law and decision-making processes in the local assembly.
This year, for the first time, the United Nations Public Service Day and Awards Ceremony will be held away from UN Headquarters, in Barcelona, Spain, co-organized by the Government of Catalonia.
The Directorate General for Civic Participation of the Government of Catalonia, Spain, won the United Nations Public Service Award in 2008.
The Awards are to be presented at the end of a three-day international meeting on the role of public service in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The meeting is expected to make recommendations on how to promote innovation in government and participants will also share best practices, including how technologies and innovations are being applied around the world to help meet the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs.
The winners who will receive a Public Service Award are from Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, India, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania and Tunisia.
They are distinguished by their creativity and innovation in improving delivery, transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public service and for advancing citizens’ participation in policymaking decisions. They are also being honoured for knowledge management in government, UNIC said.
"The winners have shown great dedication to upholding the values and virtues of excellent public service," saidSha Zukang, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. "They have provided examples of efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability."
In addition to the Public Service Awards, United Nations e-Government Special Awards will be bestowed on the governments of Korea, the United States and Canada, the three top countries that, according to the biennial UN e-Government Survey, have ensured the continued availability of robust telecommunications infrastructure, excellent human capital capacity, e-services and e-content.
Also honoured by the e-Government Special Awards are Singapore, Spain and Bahrain, three of the top 20 countries that have made significant progress in improving their e-service delivery and strengthening their citizen engagement through e-participation.
The e-Government Special Awards will recognise the success of each world region by distinguishing the top ranked countries from Africa (Tunisia), the Americas (United States), Asia (Republic of Korea), Europe (United Kingdom) and Oceania (Australia).
The United Nations e-Government Survey presents rankings on a national and regional basis in two major categories, e-readiness (provision of government services and products online, combined with the extent of telecommunications infrastructure and public education in the country) and e-participation, or the degree to which government opens itself to interaction with its citizens through the Internet.
The Public Service Awards programme, established in 2003, aims to reward excellence and promote professionalism in the public sector around the world.
It is the most prestigious recognition of excellence in public service. Public organisations and agencies at national or sub-national levels, as well as public-private partnerships, can enter the Awards competition.
There are four categories: improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the public service, improving the delivery of services, fostering participation in policymaking decisions through innovative mechanisms and advancing knowledge management in government.
