Bangladesh has won the United Nations Public Service Award 2020, one of the most prestigious recognitions of excellence in the delivery of public services.
The award has been conferred on the Ministry of Land in the category of "developing transparent and accountable public institutions" for the e-mutation initiative, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.
"It's an outstanding achievement for an initiative that demonstrated excellence in serving the public interest,” said Liu Zhenmin, the UN Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Economic and Social Affairs while conveying the decision in a letter to the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UN.
The initiative is a “significant contribution to the improvement of public administration” in Bangladesh and will serve as an inspiration and encouragement for others working for the public service, he continued.
Each year, the United Nations recognises the most innovative initiatives in the public sector around the world by conferring the Public Service Award.
“Winning the award is a result of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s ‘Digital Bangladesh’ initiative. It is also a global recognition of the Government’s sincere efforts in developing an accountable pro-people public service leaving no one behind,” said a foreign ministry release.
The United Nations organises a ceremony every year to mark the United Nations Public Service Day on June 23, during which the most innovative initiatives in the public sector around the world are recognised.
The UN has postponed this year’s Public Service Award ceremony due to COVID-19 pandemic, but it has a plan to initiate numerous outreach activities to showcase the winning initiatives online, including over UN social media channels, according to the release.
The UN General Assembly, in a resolution, designated June 23 as the UN Public Service Day for celebrating the value and virtue of services to the community at the local, national and global levels.