Newsmakers

Ash Institute receives Mexican Presidential Award

President Vicente Fox of Mexico presented the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) with a Presidential Award for ongoing assistance with Mexico’s Good Government Agenda. The presentation was made at Fox’s sixth annual Innovation and Quality Forum on Oct. 20. More than 10,000 public managers attended the event.

Gowher Rizvi, director of the Ash Institute, accepted the award. Rizvi was also invited to speak on behalf of the international recipients of the award, which included the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, the Oxford Leadership Academy, and the Organization of American States.

The Fox government received support from these organizations in key areas such as civil service reform, accountability, transparency, e-government, regulatory reform and service delivery. Rizvi acknowledged the vision of Roy and Lila Ash in democratic governance and the role of KSG faculty in providing information on international best practices that were used by the Fox government.

Counter guest of king, queen of Sweden

S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation and associate professor of neurology, was the special guest of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden at a service in the Church of Sweden and at a private luncheon this past Sunday (Oct. 29) in New York City. The king and queen were in the United States to open the new Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and to host a royal symposium on advances in brain research. Counter is the consul of Sweden in Boston and New England.