Nov 11th, 2009
Alumna “Walks the Walk” promoting democracy in Africa
I received the e-mail below from recent BGSU graduate, Martina Hanulova. If you would like to contact her or hear more about her work, please e-mail me at kfoell@bgsu.edu and I will put you in touch!
Dear Friends,
I hope this email will reach you well. I would like to share with you few updates from my work with UNDP country office in Sierra Leone.
My project, Open Government Initiative (OGI), aims to increase the accountability and transparency of the 3 branches of government by enhancing the visibility of these institutions, and by creating a platform for an open communication between the Government and the citizens. The project is an initiative of the President Ernest Bai Koroma who in his premier address to parliament in October 2007 stressed the importance of accountability, transparency and higher performance standards in public service.
OGI has conducted four successful interactive field trips since September 2008 with all focused entirely on the Presidency. Our recently concluded phase targeted the Legislature that I was lucky to be part of. Currently, OGI is embarking on its last phase, focusing entirely on the Judiciary. These town hall meetings will be organized to elicit community participation in finding workable solutions to the problems affecting the Justice sector.
In the last week of October, OGI organized its first judiciary town hall meeting. I must stress that this is the first time in the history of Sierra Leone that representatives from the Justice sector faced the public directly. The panelists who took part in our first judiciary town hall meetings were: High Court Judge, Master Registrar, Magistrate, representative from Bar Association and Law Reform Unit, representative from Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, President of 50/50, Director of Prisons, Inspector General Office, Director of Anticorruption Commission, Representative from Ministry of Local Government and Internal Affairs, Human Rights Commission, and Solicitor General.
Before the end of the year, we plan to conduct 2 more town hall meetings with the Judiciary (in Bonthe and Kailahun Districts)
I am attaching an in-house report that I put together after our first Judiciary town hall meetings held in Kambia Town, Kambia District. I am also attaching a feedback survey report from our last parliamentary this town hall meeting held in Kabala Town, Koinandugu District.
I hope you are all well.
Kind Regards,
Martina Hanulova