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Panellists (from right to left): Renzo Lavin, Rosanna del Pozo Goicochea, Helen Grandvoinnet, Jeff Thwinda, Diane Welborn, Foziya Amin and Tom Pengram
On 25 March the World Bank and the IOI organized a round table on „The Role of Ombudsman Offices in Promoting Good Governance and Effective Service Delivery“, held at the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington, DC. The IOI was represented at the discussions by its second Vice-President Diane Welborn and Secretary General Günther Kräuter.
Over 100 World Bank staff members followed the joint invitation by the World Bank Institute, Global Partnership for Social Accountability, the Nordic Trust Fund and the IOI. The round table aimed at raising awareness and better understanding of the concept of ombudsman and the role of IOI and its members with regard to public service delivery, good governance and accountability.
Jeff Thwinda, Social Accountability Practice Manager, moderated the round table. IOI’s second Vice President Diane Welborn gave an overview of the idea of Ombudsman and the services provided by the IOI. Prof. Tom Pegram from University College London and Renzo Lavin from the Civil Association for Equality and Justice in Argentina illustrated the role of ombudsman institutions in Latin America and the interaction with civil society. Foziya Amin and Claudia Rosanna del Pozo Goicochea representing IOI member institutions from Ethiopia and Peru were invited to talk about their cooperation with World Bank and their experience in facilitating access to and enhancing quality of public services including water and health. World Bank’s Lead Social Development Specialist Helene Grandvoinnet explained the Bank’s involvement with the Ombudsman of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. Furthermore, the round table was attended by Secretary General Günther Kräuter and former Ombudsman for Bermuda, Arlene Brock
Finally the session featured a presentation on a new web resource on ombudsman and was closed with concluding remarks by Johanna Suurpaa of the Nordic Trust Fund.
Following the event, second Vice President Welborn and Secretary General Kräuter meet with representatives of the World Bank Institute and the Nordic Trust Fund to discuss systematic cooperation between the two institutions.
The IOI’s also visit provided a good opportunity to meet with representatives of Washington-based Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global initiative promoting access to information and transparency.
