About the Americas Network on Open State and Sustainable Development

The Network represents the culmination of the efforts made in the framework of the Fellowship training programme in local change, which has promoted in Mexico the strengthening of capacities and the empowerment of about 60 young women and men from 15 states of Mexico.

With the goal of strengthening the strategy of empowerment of the fellows, as well as promoting the consolidation and sustainability of this agenda beyond the regional scope, the creation and launching of the Network was promoted as a space for dialogue, exchange of good practices and public policies promotion. This Network represents the first community of practice in Open Government and Sustainable Development in the Americas.

What happened at the First Meeting of the Network?

The first meeting of the network was celebrated from june 12-14, 2019 in Cancun, México. The activities of this meeting were divided into 2 areas: the first, focused on the generation of collaborative processes, and the second, focused on the development and improvement of socio-emotional skills. These two areas are relevant to the network due to their contribution to the discussion of the basic elements for the creation of the Network, such as the culture and governance that change agents propose and visualize, the viable objectives for the different phases of the Network, its implications and challenges; as well as the strategic projects that the Network will promote, and the understanding of the relevance of socio-emotional skills regarding the Open Government agenda and the compliance with the 2030 Agenda, leading to identify how the conscious practice of these skills can be a critical factor in achieving consensus among the actors involved in any social problem.

What were the results after the Network's first meeting?

At the end of the event, the local agents of change created the Public Manifest of the Network in which three main objectives were pointed out: to influence the decision-making process and contribute to the public agenda; disseminate and share lessons learned and experiences of Sustainable Development and Open State practices at the local level; and, support the formation of the new generations of local agents of change that are generated in the Americas.

This Manifest was signed by all the local agents of change who want to be part of this initiative, as well as several of the speakers and guests who accompanied us throughout the discussions as Dr. Álvaro Ramírez Alujas, founder of the Government Research Group , Administration and Public Policies (GIGAPP) of Chile; Lucy Larrosa Neighborhoods of the Municipality of Cerro Largo; Jorge Florez of Colombia; Joel Salas Suarez of Mexico; Gordon McCord of the United States, Suyapa Thumann Conde and Gaudy Bustillo Martínez of Honduras, etc. Also, as witnesses they signed the UNDP Mexico; the United Nations Development Program in Chile; Rapid Results Institute; ProSociety Do Good Good A. C .; GESOC, Agency for Development A.C .; Gobierno Fácil S.A. of C.V .; USAID, among others.