Latin America: The Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information issues a comprehensive report, Sabar Mas VIII, (in Spanish) on the progress, challenges and opportunities concerning access to information across Latin America.
Southern Africa: IFEX releases a report with national evaluations prepared by MISA Chapters in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each Chapter awards the most open public body with a Golden Key Award and the most secretive public body receives a Golden Padlock Award. “The study highlighted the fact that ordinary citizens still face challenges in receiving information from public institutions.” The report’s introduction comments:
Since the inception of the study seven years ago, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to make government held public information accessible has gradually increased. Not only do the majority of public bodies have working websites, but the quality of the content provided on those sites is also improving.
Nigeria: Almost 100 agencies are not complying the FOI Act in issues of procurement and capital expenditure, according to a report by the Public and Private Development Center (PPDC) which surveyed 131 public institutions, according to an article in Today.
International: Article 19 updates its global infographic and releases it in 10 languages. Also updated is a global (semi-interactive) map with all laws, regulations, and known bills or initiatives. The updated Article 19 RTI Principles are now available in 10 languages. Also see a blog post on the year in review.
Commonwealth: A revised comparative survey of FOI laws in Commonwealth countries done by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
Brazil: The FGV and Open Society Foundations presents a 200-page report entitled , “Local Transparency in Brazil: Evaluating Compliance with the Access to Information Law in the States and Largest Cities”. Also see a brochure summarizing the findings here. An English version of the report will be available by the end of October.
Zimbabwe: Problems with the Acess to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) are highlighted in in an article by MISA-Zimbabwe.
Liberia: Government agencies “are not doing a good job of responding to FOI requests, according to report produced by the Liberia Media Center (LMC) and the Liberia Freedom of Information Coalition (LFIC) in partnership with The Carter Center. Separately, the Independent Information Commission announces a FOI law sensitization campaign for university students. Swedish Ambassador Lena Nordström urges Liberians to use the law.
Sweden: Open Knowledge Sweden launches the beta version of FrågaStaten, the 28th installation of mySociety’s Alaveteli FOI software.
Bahamas: “In response to The Bahamas Government’s recent announcement that a final version of the long-anticipated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2015 will soon be tabled in Parliament, 17 groups representing diverse interests have come together in a single voice to demand, what they are calling, a ‘true’ FOIA,” according to The Bahamas Weekly.
Cayman Islands: The information commissioner writes that the theme for Right to Know Week is “It’s Yours, Just Ask!”
Scotland: “Scotland can challenge a lack of government transparency by expanding FOI rules and considering rules to require basic data gathering, the Scottish Information Commissioner Rosemary Agnew says in an interview. The 2015/16 annual report.
Jamaica: “The Access to Information Unit – Guaranteeing the Right to Know,” an article by Kadian Brown in The Jamaica Observer. High school students are invited to submit essays on the theme: “The Access to Information Act is playing a significant role in improving accountability and transparency in Jamaica. Discuss,” according to another article.
European Union: The European Commission proposes “a mandatory Transparency Register” covering all three EU institutions – the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. “The Commission has already led by example in making meetings with its decision-makers conditional upon interest representatives being publicly listed in a Transparency Register. Today we are calling on the European Parliament and Council to follow suit, making the Register mandatory for any interest representatives trying to influence policy-making in Brussels.” Transparency organizations scoffed at their “timid,” “disappointing,” and “shameless” proposals, according to an article in ARS Technica.
European Union: Members of Parliament seek greater powers for the EU Ombudsman in regards to the access of documents of the European Commission and European Council, amid serious concerns over the transparency of the EU’s institutions, according to Sputnik news.
Transparency for Children: The results of a survey: Transparency And Accountability At An Early Childhood, done by Transparency For Children. One finding:
A 76.19% of the participants, people in developing countries (most in Latin America), do not believe that the government of the country where their are living in, would be willing to adapt in schools a subject or official program enabling their children and youth to learn about concepts such as Legality, Transparency and Accountability. In other continents such as Asian, African or European, this percentage is only: 23.80%.
Venezuela: A new publication from Transparencia Venzuela is aimed at helping journalists access public information.
Peru: Transparency and participation is lacking in the creation of an OGP national action plan, according to a blog post (English) (Spanish) by Javier Casas, a lawyer and the former OGP – Independent Report Mechanism national researcher in Peru.
United States: “Six lessons from a five-year FOIA battle,” an article in Columbia Journalism Review by freelance journalist Philip Eil.
Indonesia: An article in The Jakarta Globe describes Jakarta’s access to information performance. “We have had 63,268 applications and we have fulfilled 99.84 percent of them,” one official said, also lauding proactive disclosure efforts.
Bermuda: A commentary article by Gitanjali Gutierrez, the Information Commissioner for Bermuda.
Namibia: Information minister Tjekero Tweya said he is confident they would have gone through all the necessary processes of the information bill by June 2017, the Namibian reports. Tweya also said many Namibians do not have access to the internet because of their socio-economic status,” according to The Southern Times.
World Bank: Some of the comments made on during the Bank’s low-key consultation on a World Development Report on governance. (Not all of those who sent in comments wanted them made public.)
Argentina: The Supreme Court orders the government-owned company YPF SA to make public the clauses of a hydrocarbons project contract with Chevron Corporation in the of the Province of Neuquen.
Canada: “New Brunswick’s Liberal government will introduce changes to the right to information law this fall, just as the head of one Crown corporation questions the value of the current legislation,” according to CBC.
Canada: Jessica Smith Cross in The Torontoist weighs in on access to emails, a conversation begun by a controversial column by Yglesias (See FreedomInfo.org summary.) She noted that a FOI reform committee “recommended Canada develop legislation that would give government officials a legal duty to document their decision-making. So, if you hash something out on the phone, you take notes, and they’re subject to the disclosure laws. Intentionally dodging the law by failing to document something would be a serious crime. It’s a measure against the “oral culture” of government that’s developed to hide from law.”
Transparency Research: “Freedom of Information and the Media,” by Ben Worthy, University of London. Abstract:
The media are a powerful constituency of users, lobbyists and defenders of Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. This chapter examines how journalists use the laws in the UK and work to protect and extend it. It also looks at how media use is seen to damage trust in the political system and can generate resistance from government. It ends by arguing that FOI must be viewed in context and now fits within a rapidly changing information eco-system and a shifting and hybrid media environment.
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