United Nations Public Service Awards

In 2003, the UN General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/57/277, designated June 23 as the UN Public Service Day to "celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community". The UN Economic and Social Council established that the United Nations Public Service Awards be bestowed on Public Service Day for contributions made to the cause of enhancing the role, prestige and visibility of public service. The United Nations Millennium Declaration emphasized the role of democratic and participatory governance in assuring the rights of men and women to "live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression, or injustice". It also noted that good governance within each country is a prerequisite to "making development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want". The UNPSA program is managed by the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The overall purpose of UNPSA is to recognize the institutional contribution made by public servants to enhance the role, professionalism, image and visibility of the public service (Economic and Social Council decision 2000/231). ==Who is eligible==

All Public organizations/agencies at national and sub-national levels, as well as public/private partnerships and organizations performing outsourced public service functions, are eligible for nomination. The United Nations Public Service Awards take into consideration a geographical distribution of five regions. In order to level the playing field for nominations received from countries with varying levels of development and income, the following five regions have been established: :(a) Africa :(b) Asia and the Pacific :(c) Europe and North America :(d) Latin America and the Caribbean :(e) Western Asia Eligible nominators include: Government departments and agencies; universities, non-governmental organizations, professional associations, etc. Purely scientific innovations, e.g. in medical or environmental science, do not qualify for the United Nations Public Service Awards. ==UNPSA categories and criteria==

For the 2021 round of nominations, the United Nations Public Service Awards categories are as follows: :Category 1: Fostering innovation to deliver inclusive and equitable services for all including through digital transformation; :Category 2: Enhancing the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the SDGs; :Category 3: Promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs; and :Category 4: Institutional preparedness and response in times of crisis. For a description of the categories and application criteria, see UN Public Service Awards ==Application process==

The application process consists of two steps. ;Step 1 :An application form has to be completed online. Nominations are allowed to enter the competition in one of the six official United Nations languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish). ;Step 2 :Upon reception of the applications, the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) pre-selects nominations. Candidates are asked to submit additional information such as a cover letter, letters of reference, supporting documents (e.g., evaluation and audit reports, results of client surveys), etc during the application process. DPIDG then shortlists candidates on the basis of the documents provided. The short-listed are subsequently considered by the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administration. After due consideration, the Committee advises the UN Secretary-General concerning the winners of the Awards. ==UN Public Service Awards ceremony==

UN Public Service Awards' winners are recognized during UN Public Service Day on 23 June of every year at a high-level event held in New York at UN Headquarters or in a host country as part of the United Nations Public Service Forum. UN Public Service Day intends to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlight the contribution of public service in the development process; recognize the work of public servants, and encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector. Since the first Awards Ceremony in 2003, the United Nations has received an increasing number of submissions from all around the world. ==Past award winners==