PURPOSE: Every year on 23 June, The United Nations Public Service Day celebrates the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlights the contribution of public service in the development process; recognizes the work of public servants, and encourages young people to pursue careers in the public sector. To bolster recognition of the Day and the value of public service, the United Nations established the UN Public Service Awards programme to promote and reward innovation and excellence in public services by recognizing the creative achievements and contributions of public institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.
FORUM: "Fostering Innovation Amid Global Challenges: A Public Sector Perspective." United Nations Public Service Day 2024. The 2024 United Nations Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony will take place in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 24 to 26 June 2024, under the theme ‘Fostering Innovation Amid Global Challenges: A Public Sector Perspective’. As we strive for the realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and navigate through increasingly fragile and uncertain conditions, institutions must actively cultivate innovation and embrace forward-thinking mindsets to effectively address both current and future challenges. Within this context, the Forum will focus on the role of fostering innovation and transformation in the public sector, with a view to enhancing the current and future capabilities of public administrations so they are readied to be more adaptive, anticipatory, agile, inclusive, and responsive in meeting development objectives amid complex global challenges. The Forum will provide a platform for Ministers, senior level decision-makers, and working level public servants to reflect upon and develop the skills needed to devise tangible actions to foster innovation and transformation at the local and national levels. The Forum is co-organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea (MOIS).Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #UNPSA, #SDGs, #UNPublicServiceAwards, #PublicService, #Publicservants, #23june.
EVENTS: On June 23rd, we will honor the public servants for their honorable work to mark the United Nations Public Service Day 2024. From 24 to 26th, will be held the 2024 United Nations Public Service Award ceremony at the Songdo ConvensiA - 123, Central-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-741, Republic of Korea. Get the Agenda Programme!
10:00~11:00 - Opening Ceremony and Keynote Speech.
Opening Remarks:
- Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, Republic of Korea; - Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations
Keynote Speech: Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
11:00~11:30 - Coffee break
Plenary I: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Government
Moderator: David Green, Director for S&T Innovation, Transition & Integration Systems, Green Resilience Insights.
Speakers: Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of ICT, Republic of Uzbekistan - Dimitri Kusnezov, Under Secretary, US Department of Homeland Security - Inhyok Cha, Committee Member & Team Leader of Digital Twin TF, Presidential Committee on Digital Platform Government - Barbara-Chiara Ubaldi, Deputy Head of Division & Head of Unit OECD Public Governance Directorate.
Parallel Workshops, Session 1.
Workshop 1: Gender-inclusive Leadership and Public Sector Innovation for Sustainable Development: Empowering Women Leaders for Future-ready Public Administration - Strategies to Promote Gender Equality in Public Administration - Lessons Learned in Asia and the Pacific.
Workshop 2: Young Public Servants: Engaging young people for a more innovative, effective and future ready public sector
Attracting and recruiting young talent to the public service for a future ready public service.
Workshop 3: Changing Mindsets: Cultivating Systems Thinking and Foresight in Public Sector Leadership - Building the Foundations to Cultivate Systems Thinking, Foresight and Innovation in Public Sector Leadership II.
Workshop 4: Fostering Innovation through Digital Sandboxes and AI Sandboxes - Presentations from UNPSA initiatives or country case-studies in AI sandboxes.
Workshop 5: Enhancing global resilience to disasters and climate change - Inclusive Governance and Community-based Resilience.
Workshop 6: Navigating future government: AI and public administration - Expanding the Potential Areas of AI in Public Administration.
Workshop 7: Strengthening public institutions for climate action - Harnessing Digital Solutions in Public Institutions for Climate Action.
18:00~19:30 Welcoming Dinner hosted by the Minister of the Interior and Safety
DAY 2
09:30~11:00 Plenary II: Revitalising partnerships for sustainable development
- Moderator: Lamia El Moubayed, Vice Chair, UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA).
Speakers: Soon Ae Park, Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University - Ko Kidong, Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety, Republic of Korea - Devon Rowe, Executive Director, Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD).
11:00~11:15 Coffee break.
11:15~12:30 Parallel Workshops, Session 3
Workshop 1: Gender-inclusive Leadership and Public Sector Innovation for Sustainable Development: Empowering Women Leaders for Future-ready Public Administration - Strategies to Promote Gender Equality in Public Administration - Lessons Learned in Africa
Workshop 2: Young Public Servants: Engaging young people for a more innovative, effective and future ready public sector- Retaining young public servants through an innovative and flexible public administration
Workshop 3: Changing Mindsets: Cultivating Systems Thinking and Foresight in Public Sector Leadership - Implementing Change through Systems Thinking, Foresight and Innovation in Public Sector Leadership.
Workshop 4: Fostering Innovation through Digital Sandboxes and AI Sandboxes - Lessons learned from applying regulatory sandboxes and policy experimentation in Bangladesh, Maldives and Kazakhstan. Workshop 5: Enhancing global resilience to disasters and climate change - Science & Technology Innovation for Responding to Landslides and Urban Floods.
Workshop 6: Navigating future government: AI and public administration - AI-based HR Digital Transformation: Shaping the future.
Workshop 7: Strengthening public institutions for climate action - Strategic Foresight for Climate Action.
12:30~14:00 Lunch
14:15~15:45 Parallel Workshops, Session 4
Workshop 1: Gender-inclusive Leadership and Public Sector Innovation for Sustainable Development: Empowering Women Leaders for Future-ready Public Administration - Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions.
Workshop 2: Young Public Servants: Engaging young people for a more innovative, effective and future ready public sector- Fostering dynamic leadership at all levels.
Workshop 3: Changing Mindsets: Cultivating Systems Thinking and Foresight in Public Sector Leadership- Implementing Change through Systems Thinking, Foresight and Innovation in Public Sector Leadership II.
Workshop 4: Fostering Innovation through Digital Sandboxes and AI Sandboxes -Conclusion and Recommendations.
Workshop 5: Enhancing global resilience to disasters and climate change - Novel Approach for Climate Crisis.
Workshop 6: Navigating future government: AI and public administration - AI in the Public Sector: Potential and Pitfalls
Workshop 7: Strengthening public institutions for climate action -Strategic Foresight for Climate Action
16:00~18:00 Study Tour
DAY 3
09:30~09:50: Reporting back on 2024 UN Public Service Forum.
09:50~11:20: Plenary III: Ministerial Roundtable
Facilitator: Laila El Baradei, Professor of Public Administration Department of Public Policy and Administration, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP)
11:20~11:35: Coffee break.
11:35~12:20: UN Public Service Awards Ceremony.
12:20~12:30: Closing Ceremony.
PODCASTS: The Curriculum on Governance for Implementing the SDGs aims to mobilize and equip public servants with the capacities needed to implement the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: The Initiative is aimed at equipping public servants with the capacities to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Get the campaign materials!
WHY WE OBSERVE THE DAY?
To bolster recognition of the Day and the value of public service, the United Nations established the UN Public Service Awards (UNPSA) programme in 2003, which was reviewed in 2016 to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UNPSA aims to promote and reward innovation and excellence in public services by recognizing the creative achievements and contributions of public institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide in support of sustainable development. The UNPAN provides a gateway to development cooperation projects implemented by UNPAN Members.
ACTIONS
Public administration - the cornerstone of governments' work-plays an essential and critical role in improving people’s lives. Reinventing public administration is a positive and necessary way forward. Without public administration modernization and transformation to adapt to today’s needs, realizing a better future for all will be impossible. Where capable administrations are lacking, governments are incapacitated; and where governments are incapacitated, sustainable development falls short.
Recognize the need to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies that provide equal access to justice.
Develop and provide a series of training toolkits and on-line training courses aimed at strengthening the capacities of public servants.
PARTNERS
The U.N. Public Service Day is organized by the Committee of Experts on Public Administration, the Division For Public Institutions And Digital Government (UN DESA), the United Nations Development Programme - Governance, the United Nations Environment Programme - Environmental Governance, the UN Institute for Training and Research - Governance, the United Nations Democracy Fund, the International Monetary Fund - IMF and Good Governance and the World Bank - Governance. With the participation of International Organizations, Non Governmental Organizations, Civil Society Organizations, Public servants and academics.