OGP Basque Country representatives at the OGP Global summit 2018 in Tbilisi (Georgia)

Representatives of the OGP (Open Government Partnership) Basque Country initiative attended the OGP Global Summit 2018 in¡ Tbilisi, Georgia, to pool the work carried out so far and discuss the challenges to defend the open government principles. The delegates included Eneko Agirre and Gotzon Bernaola on behalf of civil society and Innobasque respectively, Maitane Leizaola, from Bizkaia Provincial Council, Goizeder Manotas, Iker Goiria, Joseba Muxika, from Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, and Javier Bikandi and Luis Petrikorena, representing the Basque Government.

During the first day of the summit, the Basque representatives took part in a workshop for local governments, which focused on skills-building and pooling information with other governments in order to finalise the Basque Plan of Action 2018-2020.

On the second day, the Basque delegation went to the POC (Point of Contact) and CSO (Civil Society Organization) sessions to share and foster creativity targeting the Points of Contact and representatives of civil society, respectively. The session ended with the Innovation Exchange where the Basque Country was represented by Osoigo.

The actual summit was held at the Funicular Complex, where over 2,000 delegates from around the world gathered to thresh out the essential points for open government for the coming years. Special emphasis was placed on incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals into the agendas of each organisation. The Basque Country showcased the experiences of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, which took part on three thematic panels.

During the official opening of the summit, after the official presentation by the Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bajtadze, the Basque Country was officially welcomed to the OGP Local Program by Thea Tsukulani (Georgia’s Ministry of Justice) and of Mukelani Dimba, member of the OGP Steering Committee).