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On 16 February 2021, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) and the UN Project Office on Governance (UNPOG), and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, in collaboration with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), co-organized a virtual Side Event on “Innovating Public Governance and Leveraging Digital Technologies for Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups” during the 59th Session of the Commission for Social Development. The Side Event was convened mainly for presenting an online Training Toolkit on “Government Innovation for Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups”, which is part of UN DESA/DPIDG’s Curriculum on Governance for the SDGs.
The Side Event was opened with the Opening Remarks by Ms. Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs of UN DESA, and Ambassador Cho Hyun, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, and featured a Panel Discussion with 7 panelists from the Governments of Cambodia and the Republic of Korea, MDEC, UN CEPA, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and UN DESA. During the Panel Discussion, diverse innovative approaches, strategies and country experiences in innovating public governance and harnessing digital technologies for social inclusion of vulnerable groups were presented with policy recommendations. The Q&A Session followed with a dynamic exchange of views and experiences in response to the questions from the participants.
During the Side Event, UN DESA/DPIDG’s Curriculum on Governance for the SDGs and the Training Toolkit on “Government Innovation for Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups” were introduced. The Toolkit aims to develop capacities of public servants as well as other relevant stakeholders to promote government innovation for social inclusion of vulnerable groups by introducing diverse innovative approaches, strategies and experiences. The Toolkit is available at the UNPAN website via: https://unpan.un.org/node/585.
The Side Event had 471 registrations from 92 countries and was actually attended by 235 participants from 67 countries. Participants were from diverse sectors, including national and local governments as well as civil society organizations, academia, the private sector and UN entities.
The Side Event provided a meaningful occasion for exchanging knowledge and experiences on fostering innovation for building inclusive governance and leveraging digital technologies for social inclusion of vulnerable groups. Particularly, the Side Event highlighted the importance of strengthening people-centered and innovative mindsets, capacities and skills of government officials as well as other stakeholders. It was also emphasized that vulnerable groups can be the agents of change if duly engaged and empowered.
An Online Discussion Board has been created at the UNPOG website to facilitate continued discussion and partnership building among participants. Access to the Online Discussion Board and other relevant materials of the Side Event, including the video recording and presentation files, are available at the event webpage: https://bit.ly/3bd0bmo.
For further information, please visit: https://publicadministration.un.org/en/ , https://unpan.un.org/ and http://unpog.org/ .