2006 Tutu Fellow Aidan Eyakuze is listed among The Agile 50: The World’s 50 Most Influential People Revolutionising Governance 2020, which lauds politicians, civil servants and entrepreneurs who are driving agility in governments around the world. The list recognises “both high-profile icons and shines light on the unsung heroes whose work is indispensable in transforming government to respond to rapid technological change.” Apolitical made the announcement at the end of 2020.
It is compiled by Apolitical, an organisation that equips public servants to better do their jobs through courses, information, events and networking. It says that government is critical to solving global challenges, but that public servants often lack access to the best solutions because good ideas are often siloed in country's cities or sometimes even departments, leading to a duplication of effort, wasted taxpayer money, and poorer services.
When compiling the list, Apolitical said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, governments were already grappling with how to use opportunities presented by innovation while mitigating the risks. The pandemic amplified this challenge. COVID-19 required governments to find new ways of doing things in the face of widespread social and economic disruption. Apolitical says that the Agile 50 list of leaders pioneered novel approaches to governance. When the call for nominations was originally made, COVID-19 was not yet a pandemic. Apolitical gathered over 300 recommendations from global business leaders, tech startups, civil society organisations and public servants. The final selection was made in collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Agile Governance.
Aidan is listed in the group of "Citizen-centred champions", that include Julie Inman Grant, eSafety Commissioner in Australia; Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education & Youth; and Sunian Shukri, CEO of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, to list a few.
Aidan is an economist, and the Executive Director of Twaweza East Africa in Tanzania and also Civil Society Co-Chair of the global Open Government Partnership (OGP). Twaweza East Africa helps children to learn, citizens to exercise agency, and governments to be more open and responsive in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. In this role, he has created a mobile phone panel survey platform — Sauti za Wananchi, or Voices of the People — which enables public participation in policymaking in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The platform involves a representative panel of 2,000 citizens in each country who provide feedback on their experience and assess the quality of public services. Eyakuze is deeply committed to open governance and serves as a Board Member at the Open Government Partnership.
Read all the bios of the full list at Apolitical.
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