The awarding ceremony was held at the Bahrain National Theatre in recognition of the distinguished services and specific projects which have contributed in developing the public and eGovernment services.
H.E. Mr. Hongbo Wu United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs awarded the 2013 United Nations Public Service Awards winners. A total of 47 winning projects form 28 countries competed on five categories: Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service, Improving the Delivery of Public Services, Fostering Participation in Public Policy Decision Making through Innovative Mechanisms, Promoting Whole-of-Government Approaches in the Information Age, and Promoting Gender-Responsive Delivery of Public Services. With the two top to qualify from each category, it is noteworthy that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries won 6 awards.
H.E. Mr. Wu honored the winners of the first place in various categories, namely: Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Moldova, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and United Arab Emirates.
He also honored the second place winning countries states in various categories, namely: Bahrain, Botswana, Brazil, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United States of America.
In an inaugural speech prior to the awards ceremony, H.E. Mr. Kamal Bin Ahmad Mohamed, Minister of Transportation welcomed participants of the forum, stating that convening such major event in the Kingdom of Bahrain with its significant global agenda high-level presence and the participation of prominent international organizations led by the United Nations, confirms the international position of Bahrain and recognizes the progress and prosperity attained since the launch of the ongoing Reform Project of His Majesty the King which resulted in projects in various fields. This ranked up Bahrain in the Human Development Report (HDR), contributed to the well-being of its people and to the advancement of government services provided to citizens and residents as well.
His Excellency pointed out that the UN Public Service Forum 2013 has successfully recorded unprecedented records with 1,000 participants from 100 and 200 specialized work paper presented throughout the previous two days which reflect high level of success and interest. The final recommendations will set a roadmap to the future of government work and public service at the international level.
Concurrently with the UN Public Service Award honoring ceremony, the outcomes of the workshops’ debates, activities and accompanying meetings on international issues were announced.
The second Ministerial Roundtable was also conducted with the participation of H.E .Mr. Kamal bin Ahmad Mohamed, Minister of Transportation and other group of minsters and senior officials.