Open Government in the Arab Region

Open government aims to enhance transparency, accountability, participation and citizen engagement. Governance is still weak in the Arab region, as demonstrated by low governance indicators compared with other regions. Open government strategies can support Arab countries in enhancing governance, and accelerating the achievement of SDG 16.

Our approach

ESCWA is supporting Arab Governments in their transformation towards open government, by showing the advantages of open government and demonstrating its impact on economic and social development. ESCWA has developed a four-phase framework for the transformation towards open government, customized to the needs and specificities of Arab countries.

ESCWA also provides capacity-building and advisory services to its member States on the main components of open government: openness, participation, collaboration and engagement.

Our partners

ESCWA collaborated with:

• DESA and OECD to organize events and webinars related to digital and open government.
• the Arab ICT Organization (AICTO) to organize a regional event related to open government
• the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform of Lebanon to organize a regional capacity-building workshop in Lebanon.

Our activities

• ESCWA designed a framework for fostering open government in the Arab region, customized to the needs of Arab region.
• ESCWA prepared and published capacity-building materials on the main components of open data, participation, collaboration and citizen engagement in government decision-making and published a report on the legal aspects of open government and open data.
• ESCWA organized a number of regional and national capacity-building workshops on open government and open data in the Arab region and provided three advisory services on policy and strategy for open data for Arab countries
• ESCWA is preparing a substantive study on the economic and social impact of open government on development and on achieving the SDGs and is designing an open government portal for the Arab region