Middle East: The August issue of the ATI newsletter on the regional dialogue on access to information in MENA region contains a country-by-country update on recent regional developments by Toby Mendel of the Centre for Democracy and Law, a summary of a June regional workshop, an article on the media and ATI laws by Rosario Soraide of UNESCO, an article on the Northern Africa Consultation on the Draft Model Law for AU Member States on Access to Information by Lola Shyllon,the coordinator of the ATI Program at the Center for Human Rights in the University of Pretoria, and an interview with Saidi Adnane, Senior Civil Servant at the Ministry of Civil Service and Administration Modernization of the Government of Morocco. See the newsletter in English and Arabic.
Europe: “The Citizens’ Right to Information – Law and Policy in the EU and its Member States” (Vol. I – Study; Vol. II – Country Reports; Vol. III – Study and Country Reports). This extensive, three-part study issued June 28, 2012, is primarily about the media environment, but also addresses access to information Europe-wide and country-by-country. The official overall summary says the study “elaborates on the European Union citizens’ right to be informed and to enjoy their right to access information. The approach adopted is two-fold: firstly, it aims at analysing the legal and factual situation of the media in the EU Member States; secondly, it explores the conditions under which the citizens can search for information of interest. Country reports represented in their integrality further on build the fundament for comparative analysis; another part of the study is dedicated to describing the relevant European benchmark applicable to the freedoms of the media and information.” The authors are Alexander Scheuer, Cristina Bachmeier, Leyla Rock, and Birgit Schmeyer.
Mini-Grants: Transparency International, Ashoka and the International Anti-Corruption Conference Series through the IACC Social Entrepreneurship Initiative launch a competition, calling for new project ideas to boost transparency, accountability and fight corruption. The 3 competition winners will be awarded a mini-grant of 5,000 Euros to support the kick-off and implementation of their new anti-corruption project. Precise details on the steps related to the application process are here, on the Apply Now page. Projects pitches will be accepted until Oct. 1.
Argentina Contest: Two groups on Argentina are sponsoring a contest for journalists that among other things requires the submission of an unpublished article of 600 words that should address the following issue: access to information, human rights and journalism. The article may address any issue related to this topic, such as: the importance of access to information for the exercise of human rights, the importance of access as journalistic tool; examples in the use of access to improve news coverage, the importance access to information and data to analyze the situation of a specific duty (such as education, health, housing, etc.). The deadline is Sept. 17. For further details see this announcement by the Association for Civil Rights and the Argentine Journalism Forum.
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