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OAS to Launch New Young Leaders Program to Promote Transparency and Citizen Participation in the Region’s Public Administrations

The Organization of American States (OAS) today launched a new initiative called “the OAS Fellowship on Open Government in the Americas,” opening a space for the exchange of knowledge and experiences between the region’s young professionals and international experts on the matter, which aims at supporting public administrations in the region in their efforts to achieve more transparency, participation, and efficiency.

The goal of the initiative, being carried out by the Department of Effective Public Management of the OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs, is to create a network of young professionals bringing together the next generation of leaders from the region, offering them a space for reflection, debate and exchange of knowledge and experiences in Open Government. The network targets participants from the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, who are offered opportunities to create innovative solutions to the current challenges facing the region.

The program will be carried out in Spanish and is open to citizens from all OAS member states, between 25 and 40 years of age, who have considerable professional experience in transparency, citizen participation, accountability and collaboration between different sectors of society. They should also have solid knowledge of the current trends and challenges in the field, be innovative, open-minded and eager to engage in regional exchange and cooperation.

The 21 selected candidates of the first edition of the Fellowship will participate in workshops and seminars on Open Government topics in Washington, DC, and México City, which will include topics on transparency, access to public information, e-government, civic participation and collaboration, open-data development and use, as well as innovative applications design. In addition, they will benefit from trainings in leadership, communication and negotiation skills, as well as networking opportunities with international high-level experts and institutions.

In order to reach synergies and maximize the impact, reach and sustainability of the program, the OAS has partnered up with like-minded organizations that are also working to foster the principles of Open Government in the region: the governments of Canada and Mexico, the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the AVINA Foundation, Hivos, and The Carter Center.

Candidates interested in the program may submit their applications until January 31, 2015. For more information on the initiative and the application process, please visit our Website at www.oas.org/OpenGovFellowship (in Spanish).

Reference: E-550/14