United Nations Rewards Best Public Service Initiatives Worldwide

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 26, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 22 institutions from 18 countries were awarded by the United Nations for providing innovative public services on the occasion of the UN Public Service Forum, Day and Award Ceremony.

The Huduma Kenya Programme is amongst the first-place winners and has already been recognized nationally by the President of Kenya. Streamlining government services through a central online platform, the programme allowed the country to save money and facilitate access to public services for citizens. Winning the UN Award will provide the project recognition beyond the Kenyan borders and inspire other countries to adopt best practices.

Held in Medellin, Republic of Colombia under the theme “Innovating service delivery to implement the post-2015 development agenda”, the Forum opened on 23 June to mark UN Public Service Day and will conclude on 26 June, culminating in the official ceremony awarding the winners.

“The awards highlight many innovations that help to provide better services to citizens everywhere in the world and improve people's lives,” said Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) ahead of the event. “It provides an international platform to showcase some of the best examples of effective public governance.”

Rewarding a wide range of projects worldwide
Various initiatives worldwide will be honored, ranging from projects providing easier access to health services for high-risk pregnancies in Thailand to poor marginalized populations in Indonesia, or promoting gender equality in Spain or France, to providing education to youth with special needs in the Philippines. Other examples of awardees include projects to improve access to sanitary toilets in India, providing solar energy to poor households in the Republic of Korea, monitoring and governing temporary settlements for displaced people in Turkey, and creating housing units in Ethiopia.

Better cooperation and government capacity
The three-day Forum aims to promote international and regional cooperation by providing government officials and other stakeholders an opportunity to exchange good practices, experiences and lessons learned through networking.

It also helps to build the capacity of governments, particularly in developing and Least Developed Countries, to anticipate and respond in innovative ways to the challenges posed by the implementation of the new development agenda.

An estimated 800 participants from all over the world are expected to attend the Forum this year, including Ministers, senior government officials, and representatives from civil society, academia, and the private sector as well as international and regional organizations. The Forum will be conducted in plenary sessions and parallel capacity development workshops, and other events including an Expert Group Meeting, exhibitions and study visits.

The Forum and Awards are hosted by the Government of the Republic of Colombia and organized by the UNDESA, in partnership with UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

List of countries awarded
First place winners: Republic of Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Republic of Estonia, India,

Republic of Kenya, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Republic of Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates.

Second place winners: Brazil, Republic of Ethiopia, France, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Philippines, Thailand.

More information on the winners is available at:
http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/Internet/Documents/UNPAN94633.pdf

For more information or to follow the conference live, please visit: http://www.unpan.org