About the Author: Maria Otero serves as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

When President Barack Obama helped launch the Open Government Partnership (OGP) last year, no one could have predicted that it would capture the imagination of the international community as it has. In just one year, 57 governments have joined OGP and made more than 300 specific commitments to be more open and responsive to their citizens. These commitments, as contained in National OGP Action Plans, will impact nearly two billion people around the world.

This is truly impressive progress, but it’s not enough. And so, as we celebrate International Right to Know Day, we also celebrate the deepening commitment to open government — both globally and within the United States. As the U.S. Government…more »

Fact Sheet
Washington, DC
September 26, 2012

“We pledge to be more transparent at every level — because more information on government activity should be open, timely, and freely available to the people. We pledge to engage more of our citizens in decision-making — because it makes government more effective and responsive. We pledge to implement the highest standards of integrity — because those in power must serve the people, not themselves. And we pledge to increase access to technology — because in this digital century, access to information is a right that is universal.”

—President Barack Obama, September 20, 2011

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) was launched in September 2011 by its eight founding governments, comprised of Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In one year, it has grown to include 57 countries and over 300 commitments impacting more than two billion people. OGP is now a global community of government reformers, civil society leaders and business innovators, working together to advance good, open and accountable governance for the 21^st century. MORE

About the Author: Maria Otero serves as Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. On behalf of the United States, she is the founding co-chair of the Open Government Partnership.

Good governance means more than regular elections. It also means active citizens; a free press; an independent judiciary and legislature; and transparent and responsive institutions that are accountable to all citizens and protect their rights equally and fairly. The Open Government Partnership (OGP) hews closely to these principles. It is, at its core, about the relationship between a government and its citizens — a relationship that is defined by mutual responsibility and facilitated by dialogue.

Undeniably, technology and access are changing the relationship between a government and its people. Communication networks are enabling citizens to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms, participate in the democratic process, and organize social movements that alter the… more »