United Nations Public Service Day and Awards
The UN Public Service Day intends to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlight the contribution of public service in the development process; recognize the work of public servants, and encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector. Since the first Awards Ceremony in 2003, the United Nations has received an increasing number of submissions from all around the world.
The United Nations Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service.
Origin
On 20 December 2002, the General Assembly designated 23 June as Public Service Day by adopting resolution .
To bolster recognition of the Day and the value of public service, the United Nations established the UN Public Service Awards () programme in 2003, which was reviewed in 2016 to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The United Nations Public Service Forum is a global event that focuses on capacity development in public governance. Each year UN DESA organizes the Forum with a host country, using the event to host capacity-development workshops, the UN Public Service Awards ceremony and a Ministerial Roundtable.
2024 UN Public Service Forum
24 - 26 June 2024
Incheon, Republic of Korea
The 2024 UN Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony will take place in Incheon, Republic of Korea from 24 to 26 June 2024, under the theme ‘Fostering Innovation amid Global Challenges: a Public Sector Perspective’. The Forum is co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea (MOIS).
Public institutions for the Sustainable Development Goals
Effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is recognized by SDG 16 and the . The Agenda also recognized that governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the SDGs and ensuring follow-up and review over the coming 15 years, at the national, regional and global levels. One of the first steps governments take to implement the Agenda is often to shape the institutional arrangements for steering the implementation of the SDGs and reviewing progress.
Public administration - the cornerstone of governments' work-plays an essential and critical role in improving people’s lives. Reinventing public administration is a positive and necessary way forward. Without public administration modernization and transformation to adapt to today’s needs, realizing a better future for all will be impossible. Where capable administrations are lacking, governments are incapacitated; and where governments are incapacitated, sustainable development falls short.