“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
This passage from Mark 10:45 aptly underscores the importance of public service — serving and sacrificing for others that they may enjoy a better life.
Today, the world observes United Nations Public Service Day.
June 23 every year was designated by the UN General Assembly on Dec. 20, 2002 as United Nations Public Service Day 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.”
To institutionalize recognition of those who had served the public in an exemplary way, the UN rolled out the United Nations Public Service Awards the following year.
“The United Nations Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service,” the UN said. It noted that since the inception of the award in 2003, there has been an increasing number of entries submitted from around the world.
The UN Public Service Award was further fine-tuned in 2016 to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Last year, the Department of Science and Technology’s Science for Change Program (S4CP) was named one of the winners of the UN Public Service Award. S4CP won the award under the “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Public Institutions to Reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” category.
The UN said S4CP “seeks to reduce R&D risks for micro-, small- and medium enterprises and improve productivity and global competitiveness. It provides an enabling platform where government, academia, and industry could collectively pursue relevant and impactful research for accelerated socio-economic development.”
With S4CP’s award, we express hope that this will inspire more Filipinos or Philippine institutions to come up with programs and projects that benefit the public.
Receiving an award is important, but what matters most — the crowning glory — for any public service endeavor is when we see its benefits making a positive impact on the lives of others.
As Jacob Lew, who served as the United States’ 76th secretary of the treasury, aptly put it, “I think there's no higher calling in terms of a career than public service, which is a chance to make a difference in people’s lives and improve the world.”
