7/31/2019 Letter to Catherine Murphy TD re OGP

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Ms Catherine Murphy T.D.Dil ireannLeinster HouseKildare StreetDublin 2

Re: Open Government Partnership [#ogpIRL] 23d March 2012

Dear Ms. Murphy,

My name is Denis Parfenov and I am an Irish citizen of Belarussian origins.Last year I founded an initiative calledActive Citizen which aims to promote a digital platform forcitizen participation in democracy.

I was greatly encouraged by your work as the Member of the Technical group and I wish tobring to your attention an international movement called the Open Government Partnership

(OGP). OGP is "a new multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments fromgovernments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness newtechnologies to strengthen governance".The OGP now has overfifty members, from our neighbours in United Kingdom to our cousinsin the USA, and includes countries with diverse cultural, religious, political backgrounds andhistory. Norway and Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey, South Africa and Ukraine to name but a few.But as yet, there has been no sign that Ireland intends to join.The OGP initiative is about giving people access to the information that they need to participate.It promotes transparent, effective and accountable government while stimulating awareness,debate, activity and participation amongst the people. And it aims to foster an open, fair,

inclusive and equal society and culture.

Active Citizen envisions an Ireland that encourages the maximum levels of voter turnout,practices people-centred governance, and actively seeks and genuinely values everyone'sparticipation on all levels.

We believe that strengthening relationships with citizens is a sound investment in better policy-

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7/31/2019 Letter to Catherine Murphy TD re OGP

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