UN Public Service Day (23/06)

In March 2003, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 57/277, proclaiming June 23 as United Nations Public Service Day. It has been celebrated every year since.

«All countries and all people need a public service that is competent, equipped and well resourced. The civil service must be diverse and ethical. Its goal should be to effectively serve people and improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society» — from the message of the 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The UN called on member states to organize special events on this day highlighting the importance and contribution of the civil service to the development of society, to award civil servants, and to orient the vital interests of young people towards making decisions about the career of a civil servant.

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), «governments should use innovative and integrated approaches to promote policy reforms, institutional coordination, inclusive decision-making, and effective, responsible, inclusive and accountable public service delivery systems».

Technology and innovation over the past decade have increased the pace of everyday life, opened up access to information and changed the lives of people and society. Parallel to this, governments are faced with a lack of resources and an increase in public demands, forced to do much more with fewer resources. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated these trends by introducing remote government work, digital service delivery, virtual service teams, and even new portfolios.

Today, every country in the world must rethink the structure and operating model of its public service. The next era will see fundamental changes in the way civil servants are hired, trained and retained. The future civil service must be more flexible, using new technologies, data-driven and people-centred. These are the main elements for building future preparedness, ensuring inclusive policies and prompt service delivery, reducing inequalities and increasing trust in governments.

According to tradition, the organizing committee of the Day currently coincides with this date: the UN Civil Service Forum, festive and special events, as well as the ceremony of presenting the UN Prize for Contribution to the Development of the Civil Service.

Since 2003, the award has been awarded to 250 initiatives in 82 countries. The — Award winners include projects in the field of early diagnosis of children with disabilities and development of their skills, promotion of gender equality, improvement of pharmaceutical and health services, monitoring and management of temporary settlements of internally displaced persons, education of girls and girls in the field of reproductive health.

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