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THEME:

Extending the Ombud Frontiers:
Better Governance, Enhanced Performance

SUMMARY OF OUTCOME OF EVENT

The International Ombud Expo 2019 brought together over 250 participants representing national and specialty ombud and grievance handling offices from 38 countries in an exhibition of the role and operations of these unique institutions in facilitating better governance and driving performance in governments and organisations across the world. 

The 3-day international event, and first of its kind, was held from 28 to 31 October, 2019 at the Sheraton Hotel Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.

Convened under the theme: Extending the Ombud Frontiers: Better Governance, Enhanced Performance, the IOE 2019 was organised by an international collaboration of organisations and agencies consisting of the following: Federal Government of Nigeria; Public Complaints Commission and Ombudsman Office of Nigeria (PCC); Federal Capital Territory Administration of Nigeria (FCTA); International Ombudsman Institute (IOI); African Ombudsman and Mediateurs Association (AOMA);  Public Protector of South Africa (PPSA); African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC); Caribbean Ombudsman Association (CAROA); Instituto LatinoAmericano Del Ombudsman – Defensorias Del Pueblo (ILO); Ombudsman of Bermuda; Commonwealth Secretariat; United Nations; and Governance and Management Services International (GMSI), who also served as the Secretariat and Project Manager of the Expo.

The event was co-hosted by the Chief Public Complaints Commissioner and Ombudsman of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in collaboration with the President of the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA) and Public Protector of South Africa.

Ombudsman offices from the following countries participated in the Expo, namely: Angola, Bermuda, Botswana, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Curacao-Netherlands, Jamaica, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South African Military Ombud, Pakistan, Senegal ICRC, Eswatini (Swaziland), Tanzania, The Gambia, Zambia, Nigeria, USA as well as the representatives of the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

In all, 74 international and local organisations and agencies participated in IOE 2019.   A complete list is available at the end of this report.

The first International Ombud Expo, 2019 involved, among other features:

  • Exhibition of the work of different ombud offices and oversight institutions;
  • Parallel Experts’ Sessions and Workshops on topical issues and the ombudsman practice;
  • Unparalleled insight into how ombud institutions execute their roles and make a difference in governments and organisations across the globe;
  • One-on-one interaction and sharing of experiences between and with ombud leaders, diverse functionaries, and a wide range of stakeholders;
  • Study tours of ombud, anti-corruption, human rights and related oversight organisations in Nigeria;
  • Meeting with wide ranging organisations which service and facilitate the role of ombud offices in different parts of the world;
  • Special celebration of the role and impact of women leaders in ombud and oversight institutions;
  • Honour recognition of the contributions of eminent former ombudsmen.

 

The spread and popularisation of the ombud institution across the world over the last five decades has been unprecedented.  It is estimated that there are over 50,000 ombud offices, grievance-handlers, and complaint-bodies in operation in over 150 countries while the demand for more offices continue to grow by the day.  Thus, IOE 2019 provided a unique first-hand insight for policy makers, corporate leaders and organisation managers on role of ombud and grievance handling in tackling wide-ranging governance problems, managing conflicts, and boosting performance and productivity of governments and organisations around the world.

expectations

What Offices Exhibited

The rich display of the work and experiences of offices and organisations included the exhibition of:

  • Reports and official publications
  • Audio visual displays on role, operations and performance
  • Media reports and excerpts
  • Campaign publication of organisation’s services and other literatures
  • Physical evidence of achievements and success stories
  • Technology use and business processes
  • IT software
  • Documentary visuals, videos and other online sources
  • Interactive videos
  • Training and capacity development materials
  • Book publications and other intellectual materials
  • Cultural artefacts

Celebrating Women Leaders

For the first-time ever, the International Ombud Expo 2019 also included a special event dedicated to showcase through pictures, sharing of experiences, and expert discussions the contributions of women leaders.  Under the theme: Women Leaders in Ombudsman and Oversight Institutions, this special Expo Event involved:

  • Pictorial exhibition of women leaders in ombudsman and oversight institutions, past and present, from across the world
  • An Expert Forum where women ombudsman and oversight leaders to shared experiences and knowledge towards enhancing personal and institutional effectiveness;
  • Explication of the phenomenal role that women leaders have played through the years, the factors that have driven such successes, and drawing out of lessons for prospective leaders;
  • Illumination of the uniquely effective role women leaders continue to play in resolving conflicts, promoting peace building, and boosting the performance and productivity of governments and organisations;
  • Extensive discussions of how women can further use the ombudsman, complaints handling and related oversight institutions to promote gender equality and women in development, especially in the context of Sustainable Development Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

Recognition of Eminent Former Ombudsmen

The Expo concluded with a public recognition of the achievements of three eminent former ombudspersons, namely:

  • Justice Florence N. Mumba, Africa’s first woman ombudsperson and former Investigator-General of Zambia;
  • Ms Alba M. T. Martijn, former Ombudsman of Curacao and former President of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association (CAROA); 
  • Lt. General T. T. Matanzima, Africa’s first and former Military Ombud of South Africa. 

In conferring the honours, IOE’s overriding objective was not only to convey a collective appreciation but also reassure every serving ombudsman that even after they relinquish office their contributions and immense personal sacrifices on behalf of the rest of us will never be forgotten.

exhibitors

Key Benefits for Participants and Offices

Participants and exhibitors in IOE 2019 benefited in many ways, including:

  • A rare comprehensive experience in one location of ombud-types, complaints handlers, grievance offices together with organisations that service and facilitate their roles;
  • Exposure to a rich display of how ombud and grievance handling offices effectively tackle a wide ranging of governance concerns, help reduce corruption, manage conflicts, enhance customer service, drive innovation, defend and promote human rights as well as boost performance and productivity of governments and organisations;
  • Participation in parallel workshops and experts’ sessions on topical issues.  See Programme of Event;
  • Capacity enhancement of participating officials and functionaries through sustained exposure to the success stories of counterpart institutions from across the world;
  • Ombud brands awareness and showcasing of the work of ombud and related oversight institutions as an indispensable feature of any well-functioning government and organisation determined to surpass their performance bottom-line;
  • Exchange of best practices on the role and operations of different ombud-types and how they realise sustainable performance in an often unpredictable governance and organisational landscape;
  • Opportunity for offices and institutions to benchmark and evaluate themselves against and benefit from the lessons of experiences of counterparts from elsewhere;
  • Fostering strategic relationships and networking towards enhancing the role and performance of amongst ombud organisations;
  • International media spotlight and coverage for participants and exhibitors through the event and in the record of the event now permanently available in world wide web.

For a detailed record of the first International Ombud Expo, follow the links to the event summary, pictures and video content:

Abuja IOE EXPO 2019 Picture Gallery
Abuja IOE Expo 2019 Videos
Women Ombuds Gallery in GMSI website

Programme of Event

PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS & AGENCIES

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND AGENCIES

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