Towards an Open State with a Gender Perspective in Colombia
Colombia promotes open government and incorporates a gender perspective for the first time in its V Open State Action Plan, marking a milestone towards inclusive and transparent policies. This advancement not only promotes equity and inclusion in the country but also sets an international precedent.
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Photo by: Juan Pablo Garnica
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a global initiative that promotes transparency and access to information between governments and citizens. Since Colombia joined in 2012, public entities have worked on National Open State Action Plans with support from civil society organizations, driving commitments that respond to citizens' needs to improve governance culture.
Learn more at: Open government for dummies: Open state.
Participation and Collaboration for Inclusive Public Policies
Since 2018, Datasketch has actively participated in Colombia’s Open State Committee, accompanying the co-creation of the III, IV, and V Action Plan due to our interest in promoting open data and access to public information. Currently, along with CORLIDE, Corona Foundation, and Anti-Corruption Institute, and thanks to OGP’s 2023 Gender and Inclusion grant as part of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) support, we have worked on the V National Open State Action Plan in Colombia (2023 to 2025), to integrate gender perspective into national commitments.
The creation of the V Action Plan involved 792 people in nine territorial co-creation workshops where problems and proposals on transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and innovation were identified. The results show the importance of overcoming barriers to information access and fostering innovation in public policies.
Incorporation of Gender Perspective in the V Action Plan
With the aim of including gender perspective in these spaces, topics such as gender equity and the inclusion of women and sexual diversities were addressed in the proposed solutions. For this, we developed a recommendations guide and a resource repository to facilitate their incorporation into Colombia’s and other countries' Action Plans. As a result, 6 of the 24 Plan commitments are focused on gender equity, setting a precedent in the country’s public policies.
An International Precedent for Inclusion
In the recommendations guide for Colombia and the world, we emphasize the importance of managing gender-sensitive data and ensuring that processes are inclusive, considering territorial and ethnic differences. By incorporating gender perspective into the Open State, governments can ensure that policies address the specific needs of women and diversities. Data governance is fundamental to achieve this, as it facilitates informed decision-making and the ability to measure and evaluate advances in gender equity.
The inclusion of this perspective in the Open State is a key advancement as it establishes a model for other countries. This achievement shows that involving citizens, civil organizations, and governments in the co-creation of inclusive policies is possible. We invite you to replicate this experience and integrate gender perspective in your Action Plans to achieve an open and equitable government.
Drive change with us. Write to us at sales@datasketch.co and let’s collaborate to promote open government in your community.