UNDP Oslo Governance Forum
The Oslo Governance Forum 3-5 October 2011 - Democratic Governance Assessments for Social Accountability
From 3rd to 5th October, founder and President of Rights and Humanity, Professor Julia Hausermann, acted as a consultant for UNDP at the governance forum in Oslo, Norway. She spoke in a session concerning 'Human Rights Assessments for Democratic Governance'. Other speakers in the same panel included Ms Shireen Said, Policy Advisor, Human Rights, UNDP (Moderator); Professor Bård Anders Andreassen, Director of Research, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights; Mr Brian Kagoro, Programme Advisor, UNDP Regional Centre Johannesburg; Professor Todd Landman, Director, Institute for Democracy & Conflict Resolution, University of Essex.
Photo: Ashish Singh, official photographer, OGF.
The Oslo Governance Forum (OGF) was organised by the UNDP’s Democratic Governance Group in collaboration with United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), ActionAid, ACT Alliance, World Bank Institute and PRIA Global Partnership. The Forum's focus was on participatory governance assessments and social accountability as means for strengthening democratic governance at the national and international level.
The Forum showcased inspiring case studies demonstrating both successes and challenges within governance issues of global priority, facilitating both South-South and South-North exchange of experiences, know-how and concrete policy options. The Forum was designed to promote discussions on global issues while also allowing for learning from topic-specific, on-the-ground experiences from around the world, in addition to extensive networking opportunities for the participants.
Photo: Ashish Singh, official photographer, OGF.
The overarching focus was on governance assessments and their current and potential contribution to improving social accountability within developing countries. The Forum discussed five thematic areas, being Governance of natural resources, Strengthening public service delivery, The future in anti-corruption strategies, The role of governance assessment in political transformations and Youth and technology as forces for social accountability. The OGF focused on the "demand side" of assessments, examining, discussing and sharing experiences on how governance assessments are used by stakeholders and how demand/people driven accountability can be fostered.
Photo: Ashish Singh, official photographer, OGF.
The main objectives of the OGF were to recognize innovation and leadership in the south in using assessments to promote social accountability; to create a network of likeminded practitioners and to bridge the 'supply and demand' of assessment initiatives that are making linkages between users of assessments, especially between the community level and the producers of assessments.
Photographer: Ashish Singh, official photographer, Oslo Governance Forum, 2011. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - (+47 463 64 440)