In many places of the world, we have grown so accustomed to public institutions, that we barely even notice them. When we mail a letter, we expect it to be delivered. If we go to school, we expect to be taught and when we become parents, we expect to receive a birth certificate for the newborn. The people who make all these public functions possible often remain anonymous and only hit the spotlight when something goes wrong. The United Nations Public Service Awards are aiming to change that by showcasing the best initiatives by dedicated public servants from around the world.

Getting through a tough  period 

It’s a rainy Tuesday in Seoul. A teenage girl walks to school on one of the side streets. Her family has been struggling lately, so luxuries like new pencils for school or pads for her period are not priorities right now. At least she has her mother’s umbrella for the rain and food for lunch.

While walking, she starts revising for her science test. She recites the structure of a cell when a sinking feeling sets in. It’s not because she can’t remember the function of the mitochondria. She realizes her period is about to begin. She could go to school and try to take the test, but she won’t be able to afford the pads or tampons to stay in class the whole day. Faced with the possible humiliation, she turns around and walks home. She will have to stay home for the next five days, missing a week’s worth of lessons and tests. She’s had to do this every month since her family’s financial issues started.

Luckily, she is not alone in her struggle. In Korea, women from low-income population do not readily have access to affordable sanitary pads and public bathrooms generally do not have vending machines for sanitary pads for purchase. Recognizing this problem, public servants in the Korean capital started the innovative ‘Public Sanitary Pads Support Policy for Menstrual Health Equity’ programme.

First, sanitary pads were provided to low-income teens, followed by the installation of 200 public sanitary dispensers in 2019 with expansion in the future. Furthermore, an online portal and relevant events are held to better education the public on menstruation care.

The initiative has increased the accessibility of menstrual care and improved public perception of menstruation to a national scale.

A new home 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a mother stands in her kitchen, watching her only child play with a toy soldier on the living room floor. For her little boy, this apartment is home and the toy soldier is just a plastic man in a uniform. But for his mother, that soldier is all too real in her recent memory and this apartment does not look like home: she is a newly arrived refugee.

The first few months since her resettlement have been tough. She arrived without her husband or family. She’s tried to accept her circumstances every day and has been determined to learn the language and find a job. But communicating with anyone outside the walls of her apartment feels like a bad telephone connection, except in person. Not only can she hear but also see the prospective employers grimacing while they try to decipher her resume as if it was written in code.

These encounters only add to her growing mountain of doubt: What if her skills are not recognized in her new home? And if they aren’t, will that be a reason to send her and her son away?

She is just one of the many refugees arriving in Austria whose plight has inspired the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) in partnership with the non-profit ABZ* Austria to start the initiative ‘Competence Checks for the Vocational Integration for Refugee Women.’

This initiative offers 7 weeks of training and internship opportunities to update the skills of refugee women, who face difficulties securing decent employment due to their competencies and qualification. Through the programme, refugee women are able to improve their knowledge, bolster their language skills, expand their social network and become financially independent.

The United Nations Public Service Awards

What connects these two stories? Thanks to the sensitivity, responsiveness and creativity of public servants, both have led to a happy end. The new initiatives launched by public institutions have improved access to sanitary menstrual products in the Republic of Korea and helped refugees to use their skills to start a new life in Austria.

The public servants were also rewarded for their efforts when both initiatives were announced as winners of the 2019 United Nations Public Service Awards. The awards recognize initiatives in public sector institutions that contribute to improving the performance of public administration. They acknowledge innovations that are effective in their delivery of public services and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They allow to discover innovations in governance, motivate public servants, enhance professionalism and build trust in public institutions. The annual competition also promotes the visibility of public service around the world.

The 2019 UN Public Service Awards ceremony were held as part of the United Nations Public Service Forum, which took place in the Republic of Azerbaijan from 24 to 26 June 2019, under the theme ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through effective Delivery of Services, Innovative Transformation, and Accountable Institutions’. This year, the awards were accorded in five categories:

1. Offering inclusive and equitable services for not leave anyone behind
2. Ensuring integrated approaches in public sector institutions
3. Developing effective and responsible public institutions
4. Promoting digital transformation in public sector institutions
5. Promoting gender-sensitive public services to achieve the SDGs

Read more about other winning initiatives from all around the world here.

More information on the Forum can be found here.