ECLAC Urges for Implementing a New Governance to Properly Manage the Transformation of Development Models in the Region

Planning for development

26 June 2024|News

The organization's Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, participated in the inauguration of the First International Congress on Open State and Governance, which is taking place through Friday, June 28 in Heredia, Costa Rica.

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The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, stressed the importance today of having new governance systems to properly manage highly necessary transformations in development models in the region, during the inauguration of the First International Congress on Open State and Governance, organized by ECLAC, the International Academic Open Government Network (RAGA Internacional) and the National University of Costa Rica (UNA).

"Governance comprises the institutional dynamics, coordination dynamics and incentives that enable aligning the efforts of multiple actors and resources around strategic agendas for transformation. Only by tackling the challenges of governance, of institutional capacities, of social dialogue and of political economy will we be able to move towards a more productive, inclusive and sustainable future, which is ECLAC's motto on its 75th Anniversary and which constitutes our vision for the present and the future," the organization's highest authority affirmed in recorded remarks.

Also participating in the opening session of this event, which is taking place through Friday, June 28 in the Costa Rican city of Heredia, were the Rector of the National University of Costa Rica, Francisco González Alvarado; that institution's Deputy Rector, Marianela Rojas Garbanzo; and José Luis Ros-Medina, Executive Secretary of RAGA Internacional.

In his remarks, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs stressed that the transformation of development models is an urgent task that requires addressing at least ten major structural gaps that ECLAC has defined as the catalogue of ten regional development challenges, and which include a low capacity to grow and to create formal employment, high inequality and low social mobility and social cohesion, significant gaps in social protection, and weak educational and vocational training systems.

"All these areas need transformational changes," ECLAC's Executive Secretary underscored.

He added that countries, in order to manage the transformations, must address four related issues: the challenges of governance; institutions' technical, operational, policy and prospective (TOPP) capacities; the role of spaces for social dialogue; and the political economy of the reforms and transformations.

Meanwhile, Francisco González, UNA's Rector, emphasized that "the Open State goes beyond the mere dissemination of information and encompasses a fundamental shift in the power dynamic: the citizenry becomes an active participant, they are no longer just passive recipients. They participate in the public affairs debate and establish accountability for government actions."

The University's Deputy Rector, Marianela Rojas Garbanzo, stated that "along the way to building an open University, we have learned that, beyond the transparency of offering public data, it is necessary to envision the role that our institution plays in society and to improve the mechanisms that would enable greater evidence to continue being considered a university that is necessary for all citizens."

José Luis Ros-Medina, Secretary of RAGA Internacional, affirmed that "the first Congress on Open State is not just a network's congress, it is a congress within a network; it is an open congress for collective action in the face of Ibero-America's difficulties."

The First Congress on Open State and Governance seeks to provide a space in which representatives of the academic sector, along with those from State institutions, civil society, the private sector and multilateral and cooperation organizations, can present and discuss their research, results and reflections regarding the Open State and the new governance that is needed to address our region's structural gaps with regard to development.

The sessions will be organized around five themes: 1) Open government; 2) Open parliaments; 3) Open judiciary; 4) Open academia; and 5) New governance and innovation, with their respective subtopics, which take into account the pillars of open government and their application to public policies, in all their diversity.

At this event, ECLAC will play a major role, leading keynote lectures and participating in various panels that will reflect on the Open State and this new governance. In addition, it will present the document "Open State and Public Administration: The Role of the Academic Sector", which addresses the role of the academic sector as a fundamental actor in co-building open and inclusive public policies.