United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Security and Public Administration of the Republic of Korea (MOSPA) organised 2014 UN Public Service Forum, Day, and Awards Ceremony from 23rd to 26th of June 2013.

 

On the first day, two Keynote Speeches on “Innovating Governance for Sustainable Development: Imperatives and Strategies” were delivered by Mahathir bin Mohamad, Honorary President of Malaysia, and Brendan Howlin, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform of Ireland. In the afternoon, three discussion sessions continued and the topics for each discussion session were as followings:

 

- Openness, Sharing, Communication and Collaboration: New Paradigms for Government Operation
- Transforming Public Governance Practices to Ensure Sustainable Development
- 'Good to Great' ; Governance through Enhancing Gender Equality

- Transformative Public Sector Leadership for Sustainable Development
- Using Information and Communication Technologies as Enablers of Sustainable Development
- Engaging Citizens in Governance for Transparency and Accountability and Responsiveness in Service Delivery

- Towards Excellence in Public Service Delivery for Sustainable Development and People's Well-being

 

The second and the third day were allocated for 5 Workshops and 1 Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting respectively organised by United Nations, Ministry of Security and Public Administration of Republic of Korea, and UN Women. The topics covered by the Workshops and Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting were as following:

 

- Workshop 1: Innovation and e-Governance for Sustainable Development
- Workshop 2: Innovations in Public Accountability: the Role of Supreme Audit Institutions and Citizens
- Workshop 3: What Women Get: Transforming Public Service Delivery to Respond to Women and Girls
- Workshop 4: Transformative Initiative towards Open Competent and Service Oriented Government
- Workshop 5: E-Government in the Smart Society; the Way Forward: One Day Workshop
- Ad-Hoc Expert Group Meeting on Innovating Governance and Public Administration for Sustainable Development

 

On the last day, after presenting the conclusions and recommendations from the concurrent Capacity Building Workshops/Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting, Ministerial Roundtable took place with Mr. Wellars Gasagamera, Director General of Rwanda Management Institute as moderator.

 

The last event for the 4 daylong celebrations was the Awards Ceremony which began with the remarks by Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General of Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Island Developing States.

 

United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA), which are the most prestigious international recognitions of excellence in public service, reward creative achievements and contributions by public service institutions to more effective and responsive public administration in countries around the world. Through an annual competition, the UNPSA promote the roles, professionalism and visibility of public service. The UNPSA aim to discover innovation in governance; reward excellence in the public sector; motivate public servants to further promote innovation; enhance professionalism in public service; raise the image of public service; enhance trust in government; and collect and disseminate successful practices for possible replication.

 

This year’s UNPSA winners are:

 

- The 1st Place Winners: Austria, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey
- The 2nd Place Winners: Bahrain, Cameroon, Spain

- The 1st Place Winners: Brazil, Thailand
- The 2nd Place Winners: Republic of Korea

- The 1st Place Winners: Bahrain, Republic of Korea, Uruguay
- The 2nd Place Winners: Brazil, India

- The 1st Place Winners: Brazil, Morocco, Oman, Thailand

More detailed information will be uploaded soon through the following link: www.unpsforum.go.kr