From August 2 to 4, Bogotá will host the general meeting of the councilors of the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT), with the support of the Mayor of Bogotá and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.
More than 45 delegates from the governments of Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Mexico, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic will share experiences related to the consolidation of fiscal policies and will dedicate their efforts to the elaboration of the strategic plan for the corresponding Initiative for the next ten years.
In an agenda of face-to-face and virtual sessions, guests will discuss strategies for inclusion and minority-sensitive budgeting within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
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For María Clemencia Pérez, Secretary General of the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá, the fact that Bogotá has been chosen as the venue for the event is a recognition of the administration's progress in terms of transparency and zero tolerance for corruption.
"After Bogotá joined the Open Government Partnership, Open Data Charter, and CoST, the city was accepted into this network that facilitates dialogue and interaction between governments, entrepreneurs, and actors interested in exchanging best practices in fiscal transparency and public participation," said the Secretary General.
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative between national and local governments worldwide that aims to fight corruption by promoting open government practices, while the Open Data Charter includes information about principles and best practices to openly publish government data in agreement between countries such as Guatemala, France, Mexico, among others. For its part, the CoST, of which Bogotá has been a member since 2021, is an international organization focused on transparency in infrastructure projects.
"Products such as the Fiscal Observatory, the Procurement Portal, and Participatory Budgeting, among others, have been highlighted internationally for their usefulness in monitoring public spending; hence, Bogotá has been the first city in the world to enter the GIFT initiative," she added.
During the meeting, the district administration will provide a complete description of the city's participatory budgeting process and the transparency of fiscal figures, as well as the efforts that have been made to involve more citizens in budgetary analysis and monitoring. In addition, the experts will make a special visit to Ciudad Bolívar, where they will see projects and results of participatory budgeting initiatives.
"With events such as the one that brings together GIFT's advisory members in Bogotá, we can continue to publicize the efforts in our head-on fight against corruption, strengthening the oversight of social control, and thus ensure that citizens appropriate information and defend public interests, with open, transparent government and conscious citizenship," concluded Secretary Pérez.
