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Brand Ambassador Program
The Ombudsman institution is an important feature of the legal system in most parts of the world that provides fast and inexpensive administrative justice to the masses, however many people are unaware of it. There is a need to raise awareness about the Institute in order to resolve the problems of people and improve service delivery.
Sindh Ombudsman Institute was established in 1991 through “The Establishment of the Office of Ombudsman for the Province of Sindh Act” with the vision to promote a high standard of governance, accountability, and efficiency through administrative justice services and address public grievances in a fair, prompt, transparent, equitable and efficient manner. As an independent statuary body, it promotes good governance and protect human rights.
The Ombudsman Sindh is striving to expand its outreach and accessibility to facilitate administrative justice to the general public at their doorstep through revamping its Website, Social Media, Mobile App, Mobile Messaging and Ambassador Program at Universities etc.
The Brand Ambassador program at universities has been initiated through the Regional Subsidy of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) 22-23 in order to foster a deeper understanding of the mandate and scope of Sindh Ombudsman Institute and to inform the student-community and general public about its availability for the dispensation of administrative justice and speedy redressal of their complaints, particularly in the remote and far flung areas.
Workshops have been conducted / held in three universities i.e. Hamdard University, Sindh Madressatul Islam University and Salim Habib University where detailed presentations about the working of Ombudsman Institute were given and 10 students from each university were selected as Ambassadors to disseminate mandate and functions of Ombudsman office to the general public and student community through meetings, Social Media etc. These Ambassadors also act as a bridge between the Institute and community for the betterment of society and will help promote accountability, transparency, good governance, and protect human rights in the province. The program aims to induce in the Ambassadors civic responsibility, build advocacy skills and improve community outreach and the feedback mechanism.
Post-event activities were also carried out with selected Ambassadors where the Ambassadors were guided on how to communicate the message of Ombudsman office to the student community and general public and feedback from selected Ambassadors was obtained. Certificates were also distributed amongst them to acknowledge their contribution. These certificates will serve as a symbol of sincere appreciation for the commitment and hard work demonstrated by them in furthering the mission and objectives of our program. These certificates will not only acknowledge their valuable services but also inspire and motivate them to continue their exceptional efforts in the future for promoting good governance and protecting human rights. This activity of awareness will continue in other universities as an ongoing process as it is key to the success of the Ombudsman Institution.
Their feedback will be useful in our future outreach activities. Based on the feedback received from the ambassadors, the Honorable Ombudsman intends to initiate an internship program for students of college and universities including selected Ambassadors for better understanding of the working of Ombudsman Sindh Institute.
Source: The Office of the Ombudsman of the Sindh Province, Pakistan
