Latest Features
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28 September 2006
International Right to Know Day 2006
International Right to Know Day was established to mark the founding on 28 September 2002 of the global Freedom of Information Advocates Network. The 4th International Right to Know Day is being celebrated in 2006. The aim of Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to government-held information: […]
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17 July 2006
UNDP Seminar Spotlights Complexity of Expanding Right to Know
By Toby McIntosh Fostering the right to know in developing countries requires multi-faceted, flexible strategies, according to the minutes of a May 2006 seminar sponsored by the United Nations Development Program. The 31 seminar participants, with practical experience in many parts of the world, reviewed the impediments to improving government transparency and shared insights on […]
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27 June 2006
Two Steps Forward, One Step Backwards: The Access to Information Campaign in Argentina
By Martha Farmelo and Mariela Belski Martha Farmelo is Coordinator of the Freedom of Expression Program and Mariela Belski Coordinator of the Access to Public Information Program at the Buenos Aires-based Association for Civil Rights (www.adc.org.ar) Which is preferable, a severely flawed national access to information law, or no law at all? Freedom of information […]
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22 March 2006
freedominfo.org Kicks Off Project on Legislative Transparency
By Maria Baron, Argentina Introduction | Methodology | Glossary Legislatures are an essential pillar in a country’s struggle to promote transparency and good governance and to combat corruption: they are the only institution that represents the entire citizenry, have the ability to control other state agencies, and create norms and initiatives that prevent unethical practices. […]
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22 March 2006
Freedom of Information Laws Added to the Development Agenda
By Toby McIntosh Riding a wave of transparency, the idea of encouraging Freedom of Information (FOI) laws as part of the development agenda is gaining currency, but slowly. With research and case studies increasingly identifying transparency as a key tool in fighting corruption and facilitating development, more attention is being paid to the development of […]
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16 November 2005
How to Measure Openness?
Towards an International Index Government transparency ranks as a fundamental human right and an essential element in developing effective democratic governance. Nonetheless, international freedom of information advocates face a daunting challenge in quantifying and evaluating government openness and access to information in different nations. A wide range of researchers have pioneered the development of indexes […]
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28 September 2005
International Right to Know Day 2005
Since 2002, freedom of information advocates around the world have been working together to promote the right of access to information for all people and recognize the benefits of transparent and accountable governments. We use this day as a way to share ideas, strategies and success stories about the development of freedom of information laws […]
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9 May 2005
REPORT: Article 19 on Freedom of Information in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
A report from London-based NGO Article 19 on freedom of information legislation and its impact on the news media in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, finds that problems with implementation, state secrets legislation, and a Soviet-style predilection for excessive secrecy have created "the environment for arbitrary refusals, manipulation of information, and, in extreme cases, even release […]
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15 April 2005
Teaching Institute or Dance Bar? Putting Local Freedom of Information Legislation to Use in Argentina
By Martha Farmelo Martha Farmelo is Co-Coordinator of the Access to Information Program at the Buenos Aires-based Association for Civil Rights (www.adc.org.ar). I’ve never slept particularly well the first night in a new home, what with the excitement of the move and all the strange, new sounds. Little did I expect the sounds of the […]
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7 April 2005
FOIA Law Discloses British Farm Subsidies
For the first time the British Freedom of Information Act forced the disclosure of the amounts and recipients of UK farm subsidies on March 22, revealing over £1,000,000 in payments to the British royal family. A request filed with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by the Guardian newspaper produced a pair of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, […]
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9 February 2005
On-line Networking Solves Potential Secrecy Problem in Slovakia in 4 Hours
International openness advocates assist Slovakian reformers in debate over EU directive and its effects on Slovak law concept of "silent refusal" Freedom of information advocates in 10 countries plus the U.S. state of New York today combined forces on-line within an elapsed time of four hours to help Slovakian openness reformers refute a legal interpretation […]
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30 June 2004
Beyond Democratic Rights and Electoral Reform Campaigns: Challenges Dacing Non-Party Political Movements
by Vivek Ramkumar Download the entire report in Adobe PDF format (40 pp.) Beyond Democratic Rights and Electoral Reform Campaigns: Challenges facing Non Party Political Movements (360 KB) In India, people’s movements and grass roots campaigns have traditionally participated in the political process by articulating the needs of the poor and socially marginalized and by […]
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30 June 2004
Bibliography of MKSS Writings, Articles and Other Reports
The following documents are available for sale in a CD with the MKSS. To obtain a copy of this CD please contact the MKSS at mkssrajasthan@yahoo.com. From Information to Accountability – Reclaiming Democracy Survival And Right to Information – Gulam Rasool third memorial lecture by Aruna Roy Information, Democracy And Ethics – Aruna Roy (12th […]
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30 June 2004
MKSS Photo Gallery
PHOTO GALLERY OF THE MKSS Women resting in the tent put up by Jan Nithi Abhyan (JNA) and Akal Sangharsh Samithi (ASS) during a 10 day public meeting in the fall of 2003. The JNA was a campaign for a peoples’ manifesto launched by civil society groups from across Rajasthan including the MKSS in 2003 […]
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30 June 2004
FILM: Right to Information
BACKGROUND NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTARY ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION MOVEMENT IN INDIA The MKSS has had a series of films made to document various aspects of its work. The most successful campaign run by the MKSS was the Right to Information campaign. The campaign had a modest beginning as an effort to document that […]
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30 June 2004
The Right to Know is the Right to Live: Profile of a Remarkable Peoples’ Movement in India that Links Information to Livelihood
The pioneering right-to-information work of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in India has won remarkable victories in the struggle against corruption, both at the village and national levels, according to the latest case study posted today by the freedominfo.org virtual network of international openness advocates. Compiled and edited by MKSS member Vivek Ramkumar, a […]
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13 April 2004
The Transparency Labyrinth in Argentina
[See also: “The Freedom of Information Campaign in Argentina,” by Martha Farmelo, 14 OCTOBER 2003] A leader of Argentina’s openness movement, María Baron of the Centro de Implementacion de Politicas Publicas Para la Equidad y la Crecimiento, describes for freedominfo.org the reasons why President Nestor Kirchner decreed access to information rights in December 2003 (while […]
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14 October 2003
The Freedom of Information Campaign in Argentina
[See also “The Transparency Labyrinth in Argentina” by María Baron, 13 APRIL 2004] Buenos Aires-based journalist Martha Farmelo reports for freedominfo.org on Argentina’s current campaign for a freedom of information law, which was passed in May 2003 by the lower house of the national congress and is now pending in the senate. Farmelo describes the […]
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11 October 2003
“The Right to Know is Gaining around the World”
by Thomas Blanton The International Herald Tribune, October 11, 2003, p. 6 Last month (September 23, 2003), Armenia became the 51st country in the world to guarantee its citizens the right to know what their government is up to. Armenia’s new freedom of information law is the latest outpost of the worldwide movement towards opening […]
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5 October 2003
REPORT: Fiji Debates Freedom of Information Proposal Citizens’ Group Launches Draft Law
The Citizens’ Constitutional Forum in Fiji has launched a public debate in the South Pacific nation over the unfulfilled requirement in the Fiji Constitution for a freedom of information law. Together with the University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme in Suva, the CCF held a public FOI workshop on September 30, 2004 and released […]