Posts Tagged ‘rti advocacy’
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6 August 2012
Rep. Evardone Targeted for Blocking Philippine FOI Bill
Advocates for passage of a freedom of information law in the Philippines have begun an advertising blitz targeting a key House committee chairman, Rep. Ben Evardone, who is widely viewed as the major impediment to passing the bill. A cartoon shows a tensely smiling Evardone dribbling a basketball labeled “Freedom of Information.” A caption says: […]
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14 May 2012
Folk Songs Explain the RTI Law in Bangladesh
Sung to the tunes of traditional folk songs, new lyrics are being used to explain the right to information law in Bangladesh. Days of secrecy are long gone, Public officials are now under obligation, To ensure people’s right to information, Says the law of the nation The “Tathya Adhikarer Gaan” or “Songs on the Right […]
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5 August 2011
Words From Mali Minister Encourage FOI Activists
Mali’s minister of communication has committed to support an action plan to promote the right to information in the country, according to a press release from the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) and the Mali Association of Human Rights (AMDH). The groups welcomed the development, which was made at a July 29 workshop they […]
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7 January 2011
FOI NOTES: Video From Mexico; Aid Transparency
Mexico: A new video documentary on FOI in Mexico has just been released, entitled ¿Qué Pasó con mi Dinero? / What happened to my Money? Spanish version, here: http://www.fundar.org.mx/indicepresupuestoabierto2010/index.html Version with English subtitles, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTZSt25if4E&feature=related United States: The new U.S. effort to put out more information about aid flows is discussed on the Aid Watchers […]
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8 December 2010
Awareness of Kyrgyzstan Access Law Low, Study Finds
Kyrgyzstan’s population does not demand information from public officials and many weakness exist in the implementation of the access law, according to a recent report. The findings and a series of recommendations are contained in a four-country study sponsored by the Open Society Institute in which requestors sought information, with mixed success. “The main problem […]
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8 December 2010
Georgia Access Regime Needs Fixing, OSI says
A variety of legislative and administrative recommendations to remedy perceived weaknesses in Georgia’s access to information practices are made in a new report by the Open Society Institute. The recommendations are an outgroeth of a four-country study in which requestors sought information, with mixed success. The section on Georgia says the public institutions were not delivering […]
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8 December 2010
Improvements Suggested for Azerbaijan Access Law
Ideas for amending the Azerbaijan access to information law, for improving administration of the law and for enhancing proactive public access to information are among the recommendations contained in a new report. Prepared by the Open Society Institute and its affiliates, the report covers four countries in the region. The recommendations are based on the […]
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8 December 2010
Ukrainian Access Law Needs Reform, OSI Report Says
Ukraine’s access to information regime needs strengthening in a variety of ways, according to a report by the Open Society Institute. A series of recommendations are contained in a four-country study in which requestors sought information, with mixed success. Efforts are under way to revise the Ukranian law and parliament may deal with the topic […]
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9 November 2010
U.S., India Seek to Spread Transparency Experience
The United States and India this week announced a joint effort to export lessons from the Indian Right to Information experience. President Obama Nov. 7 pledged “approximately” $1 million “to support the work of Indian civil society in sharing their best practices abroad.” The Indian government promised a matching commitment of in-kind assistance “that will […]
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3 September 2010
Nigerian Legislator Blames Media for Holding Up FOI Bill
A key Nigerian legislator has indicated that passage of a Freedom of Information bill is conditional on the inclusion of provisions concerning media responsibility. His position drew a rebuttal from groups supporting the long-stalled FOI bill. Iyiola Omisore, chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, “has blamed journalists for the delay of the passage of […]
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7 October 2009
Saber Mas: New Report on Access to Information in Latin America
Open government advocates offer first-hand accounts of FOI promotion in Latin America Latin America’s leading open government advocates recently released a report, bringing together data from 17 countries and offering new findings on the status of freedom of information in the region. The Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information (Alianza Regional para la […]
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8 May 2009
Jimmy Carter Presses for Greater Access to Information in the Americas
Sao Paulo Gives Jimmy Carter Highest Award in Recognition of Human Rights Former US President Jimmy Carter publicly pressed for widespread support for Brazil’s pending transparency law last week. The government has pledged to pass an access to information law this year, as reported previously by freedominfo. On Sunday, May 3rd, Carter was given the […]
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28 September 2008
International Right to Know Day 2008: Global Phenomenon Now Includes More Than 80 Countries
Washington, D.C., September 28, 2008 – Today’s celebration of International Right-to-Know Day marks a new watershed in the global reach of freedom of information laws – now on the books in more than 80 countries – and features celebrations in countries ranging from Mexico to Moldova, according to postings today on the www.freedominfo.org virtual network […]
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17 July 2008
PAKISTAN: Access to Information Advocates Criticize Proposed Freedom of Information Bill
The Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) this week held a consultation on the draft Freedom of Information Bill of 2008, which is likely to soon be tabled for consideration by the legislature. The CRCP, which has been working for to strengthen the freedom of information (FOI) framework in Pakistan since 1998, expressed reservations about […]
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17 July 2008
NIGERIA: FOI Proposal Now the Oldest Unpassed Bill
The freedom of information bill brought before the Nigerian National Assembly in 1999 has now become the oldest unpassed legislation still pending before that body, according to the influential newspaper This Day. A July 14, 2008 article by Jude Igbanoi describes the FOI bill as the subject of "unprecedented debate, wrangling and bickering between the […]
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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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27 July 2002
Japan – Breaking Down the Walls of Secrecy: The Story of the Citizen’s Movement for an Information Disclosure Law
By Information Clearinghouse Japan A new national disclosure law took effect in Japan in April 2001. This essay by Information Clearinghouse Japan shows how citizen’s groups, opposition parties and freedom of information advocates had lobbied for such an act for 20 years. While local governments had passed access laws since the 1980s, efforts to enact similar […]
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15 July 2002
World’s Right to Know
By Thomas Blanton Published in Foreign Policy, July/August 2002 During the last decade, 26 countries have enacted new legislation giving their citizens access to government information. Why? Because the concept of freedom of information is evolving from a moral indictment of secrecy to a tool for market regulation, more efficient government, and economic and technological […]