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United Nations to reward best public service initiative worldwide

Xinhua, June 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The United Nations is scheduled to award 22 institutions from 18 countries for providing innovative public services on the occasion of the UN Public Service Day on Tuesday, UN officials announced here Monday.

The winners will be awarded at a ceremony at the UN Public Service Forum, which will be held in Medellin, Colombia, under the theme "Innovating service delivery to implement the post-2015 development agenda," the officials said, adding that the Forum will open on Tuesday to mark UN Public Service Day and will conclude on June 26, culminating in the official ceremony awarding the winners.

"The awards highlight many innovations that help to provide better services to citizens everywhere in the world and improve people's lives," said Wu Hongbo, UN under-secretary-general who heads the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), in a press release issued here.

"It provides an international platform to showcase some of the best examples of effective public governance," he said.

Various initiatives worldwide will be honored, ranging from projects providing easier access to health services for high-risk pregnancies in Thailand to poor marginalized populations in Indonesia, or promoting gender equality in Spain or France, to providing education to youth with special needs in the Philippines, said the press release.

Other examples of awardees include projects to improve access to sanitary toilets in India, providing solar energy to poor households in the Republic of Korea, monitoring and governing temporary settlements for displaced people in Turkey, and creating housing units in Ethiopia, it said.

The three-day Forum aims to promote international and regional cooperation by providing government officials and other stakeholders an opportunity to exchange good practices, experiences and lessons learned through networking.

It also helps to build the capacity of governments, particularly in developing and Least Developed Countries, to anticipate and respond in innovative ways to the challenges posed by the implementation of the new development agenda.

An estimated 800 participants from all over the world are expected to attend the Forum this year, including ministers, senior government officials, and representatives from civil society, academia, and the private sector as well as international and regional organizations.

The Forum will be conducted in plenary sessions and parallel capacity development workshops, and other events including an Expert Group Meeting, exhibitions and study visits.

The Forum and Awards are hosted by the government of Colombia and organized by the UNDESA, in partnership with UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the officials added. Endite