Rudi Borrmann of Local OGP and NGO of Córdoba: a meeting to strengthen ties

On May 5, we had the visit of Rudi Borrmann, the Deputy Director of Local OGP in Córdoba, and from Fundeps and PARES we organized a meeting with other NGOs and spaces of activism for human rights in Córdoba, at the Fundeps Office.

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What is Local OGP?

OGP Local is an area of the Global Open Government Partnership (OGP) dedicated to the promotion and involvement of subnational levels in the open government agenda. The proposal is analogous to what happens at the national level: that subnational governments join this Alliance through open government action plans co-created with civil society following the guidelines suggested by the Alliance.

The presentation of the province and the municipality of Córdoba to OGP Local

Córdoba -province and city, since they were presented jointly- is one of the four districts that joined OGP Local in 2020. The other cities or provinces were: Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, city of Rosario and province of Mendoza. For this reason, both the city and the province of Córdoba presented their open government action plans to the Global Open Government Alliance.

In this context, the province of Córdoba adopted 3 commitments aimed at the territorialization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations Organization) in 4 municipalities in the interior of the province, with a gender perspective and youths. For its part, the municipality of Córdoba assumed 3 commitments, one aimed at strengthening Neighborhood Centers, and another two on improvements in digital experiences for its citizens.

Given that within the framework of this Global Open Government Alliance, all action plans must have their civil society counterpart, that is, they must be co-created with it, from Fundeps and PARES we accompany the plan presented by the province of Córdoba and CIPPEC did the same with the municipality.

An interesting fact is that to join this Alliance, a high-level commitment signed by the highest executive authority of the province or locality in question is requested: here you can find the assumption of commitment by Governor Juan Schiaretti and the Mayor Martin Llorora. Unfortunately, this letter is only published on the Open Government Partnership website and in the English language.

The meeting with NGOs from Córdoba

Within the framework of the visit of the Deputy Director of OGP Local to some local jurisdictions that assumed commitments in OGP Local in Argentina, we organized a meeting with other NGOs and activism spaces in Córdoba. Representatives from EcoHouse, the Argentine Association for Open Government (AGA), Youth for Climate, Minka, Ciscsa – Feminist Cities Córdoba and Global Shapers participated.

The meeting was used to publicize the Global Alliance for Open Government to those who were not so familiar with this space. Rudi Borrmann presented Vital Signs of OGP: 10 years of data in review, a study that accounts for the main successes and challenges of OGP ten years after its operation.

Then a space for consultations and interventions was opened about the Alliance, its relevance and interest for local organizations, as well as some challenges that are noticed when participating, especially from civil society, in open government action plans. in a real and effective way.

At Fundeps and PARES, as NGOs that are accompanying the process in the province of Córdoba, we are committed to increasing the number of organizations that get involved in this space and can contribute significantly to the commitments and action plans that are generated in the local and national OGP framework, contributing with their perspectives, knowledge and experiences in the construction of more participatory, transparent and inclusive open government policies.