The Executive Director of the Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica), Mr. Sammy Obeng, has been awarded an Open Government Leadership Fellowship by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) for his contribution to the advancement of the Open Government Movement in Africa.
The coveted Leadership Fellowship award was issued to him by the Open Government Partnership on March 31st, 2023 after he had successfully completed the OGP’s Open Government Leadership Collaborative Programme (OGLC).
Recipients of the award must complete the earning criteria as part of the conditions to earn the badge. Having earned it, he becomes one of the pioneering fellows for Africa and the Middle East.
The OGLC programme and fellowship was launched back in the year 2021 by the Open Government Partnership aiming to build a refreshed and ever-growing coalition of open government leaders spearheading transformative reforms and advancing the open government movement.
Fellows of the OGLC programme have engaged with practical tools and tailor-made inspirational content to build their individual and collective leadership capacity within the Open Government Movement.
Mr. Sammy Obeng Leads PNAfrica, convener and connector of civil society parliamentary monitoring organizations and journalists towards promoting Open Parliaments across Africa.
Headquartered in Accra-Ghana, the organization advances its vision through four strategic priorities including – strengthening and supporting Parliaments in Africa; Building the capacity of parliamentary journalists, and promoting access to information; convening civil society for knowledge management; and bringing parliaments closer to citizens through accountable and inclusive programs that impact the livelihood of the people of Africa.
PNAfrica has since 2019 convened national and regional level PMO Networks that have engaged parliaments across West Africa, seeking to advance parliamentary openness.
As a convener of both the African and West African Networks of PMOs, it has coordinated conversations (webinars) and initiatives that have engaged civil society organizations and parliaments to promote open parliament reforms (or action plans) to increase transparency, accountability, and citizens participation, and inclusiveness in Parliaments across sub-Saharan Africa.
The latest feather in its cap is the launch of the Africa Open Parliament Index (OPI) which seeks to measure the level of openness of Parliament on the continent. It combines indicators from global best practices on openness and minimum standards in Parliamentary transparency, civic participation, and public accountability.
The OPI defines Open Parliament under three categories (dimension): Transparency; Civic Participation; and Public Accountability.
Source: PNAfrica Comms
