The Basque Government receives the UN Public Service Award

The United Nations has awarded the first Prize of the Public Service Awards in two categories to the Basque Government, member of ORU’s Executive Bureau. The Basque Institute of Women-EMAKUNDE has been recognized in the “Promotion of the gender perspective” category, for its excellence in the implementation of the Basque Law on gender equality. For their part, the Basque Open Government Program, developed by the IREKIA portal, has received the award in the “Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms” category.

With the Public Service Award, considered the most prestigious international recognition to excellence in the public sector, the UN has acknowledged the equity and citizen participation policies put in place in Euskadi. The implementation of the Basque Law on equality has obtained significant achievements like the increase of specialised structures to boost equality in the public and the private spheres, a more balanced participation of women in decision-making positions and the creation of tools to improve the protection and wellbeing of victims of gender-based violence. Also, the Basque Open Government is considered a pioneer in this type of initiatives in Europe. The IREKIA portal is a tool made available to Basque citizens to bring about greater transparency in governance. It is conceived as a collaborative space that, while it reports citizens on the government’s actions, it also listens to their opinion and allows for their direct involvement in the decision-making processes of public policies. 

Both institutions will receive their awards on the 23rd of June in Medellin, Colombia, for the UN Public Service Day.