"Morocco is no stranger to the global problem of corruption and the associated lack of public trust in the country’s administration. Public pressure, especially during the Arab Spring, resulted in a constitutional amendment in 2011 and people being given the right of access to information. Citizen
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s now have the right to request non-public information held by the administration, while at the same time public bodies are required to proactively provide citizens with more information. Morocco’s Access to Information Act has been in force since March 2019, however, its adoption has been postponed until 2020." (Introduction)
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"The Guide shows how support for the principle of public access to information and the practical implementation of access to information (ATI) laws reinforce the EU’s work around the world in promoting participatory democracy, good governance, freedom of expression and other fundamental rights, an
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d human development overall. Among other things, it notes regional agreements and instruments relevant to the practical application of access to information principles which are invaluable references, both for the policy guidance they provide to EU Delegations and as potential models for such regulations and systems in other regions where the EU supports progress in this area. There is much to be done – and much that EU Delegations can do to help. These are some of the practical, effective steps that EUDs have already taken to improve public access to information in developing countries: training journalists in the use of access to information laws; providing technical IT aid to state agencies running online ATI systems; supporting public information campaigns about citizens’ ‘right to know’; aiding in the drafting of ATI laws, with expert advisers in the field; sponsoring cross-border consultations of ATI systems specialists; collaborating in legal training programmes for judges and prosecutors; assisting countries in measuring local ATI progress in accord with the commitments of SDG16-10, in conjunction with media and civil society. This Practical Guide overall provides tools and hands-on examples for EU Delegations to study and perhaps to emulate, including a review of the EU’s own policy guidance and recent history in this area." (Purpose of this guide, page 6)
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"Este manual destina-se a apresentar um quadro de formação para as OSC envolvidas em trabalho de apoio à promoção e protecção dos direitos humanos. O manual estabelece uma norma para o conteúdo de formação sobre o direito à informação para as OSC em África. O manual também serve de fe
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rramenta de referência/informação para formação das OSC em África sobre o direito à informação; Ferramenta para a formação de formadores sobre o direito à informação; e um guia para formação de formadores sobre metodologias e abordagens de formação. Este manual destina-se a intervenientes da sociedade civil que trabalham para promover questões de transparência e responsabilidade, boa governação, direitos humanos, estado de direito e prestação de serviços, entre outros. O manual também pode ser usado por organizações comunitárias, grupos de agricultores e todas as organizações e indivíduos que possam ou devam requerer informação de qualquer organismo público ou órgão privado detentor de informação pública." (Objectivo do manual)
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"Este manual de formação visa alargar os conhecimentos dos participantes sobre o direito à informação; estimular uma interpretação do direito à informação como ferramenta para o jornalismo de investigação; desenvolver a capacidade dos participantes na promoção do direito à informaçã
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o; espelhar a aplicação prática de leis do direito à informação nos países dos participantes; e definir o papel dos jornalistas na promoção do direito à informação." (Introdução)
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"The central aim of this study is to unpack the major trends in the field of access to information laws and their implementation. In order to understand the trends, the report examines the activities of trendsetters. It focuses on awareness-raising by UNESCO, Member State recommendations in the Univ
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ersal Periodic Review, the commitments of the Open Government Partnership, actions of civil society organizations, and the standard-setting activities of such regional intergovernmental organizations as the Council of Europe, the African Union and the Organization of American States." (Scope of the study, page 8)
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"A decade ago, open data was more or less just an idea, emerging as a rough point of consensus for action among pro-democracy practitioners, internet entrepreneurs, open source advocates, civic technology developers, and open knowledge campaigners. Calls for “open data now” offered a powerful cr
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itique of the way in which governments and other institutions were hoarding valuable data paid for by taxpayers – data that if made accessible, could be reused in a myriad of different ways to bring social and economic benefits and democratic change. Ten years on, open data is much more than just an idea. First, it was a movement, and then a label applied to vast quantities of data from genomics and geospatial data to land registers, contracting, and parliamentary voting. Today, it’s a term found on government portals, in global policy documents, and in job descriptions. Thousands of businesses around the world owe their existence or their growth to the release of open government data, and hundreds of civil society organisations have embraced open data as a key element of their social change toolkit. For a while, it may have been possible to identify a cohesive open data movement united by shared interests, working simply to gain access to more data and establishing the principle that government data should be open. However, as the movement has evolved, stakeholders have turned their focus to linking data use to specific needs and to questions of how to quantify the return on investment in advancing open data. Within this fast growing and organic open data movement, an ever-increasing number of networks and communities of practice have become more diverse, fluid, and cross-sectoral. So what is the open data movement today? What has it achieved over the last decade? Answering these questions is at the core of this publication. It is a collective effort to explore what we can learn from the past, to identify how to build on the investments made to date, and to look at how open data policy and practice have started to address challenges such as mainstreaming and sectorisation. Exploring these questions is not just important for historical purposes. It can yield important insights on how best to move forward. This publication is also an invitation to identify the issues that may sustain this broad coalition into the future." (Introduction)
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"Las instituciones públicas subnacionales inciden directamente en la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos de todo el país, ya que cuentan con autonomía de gestión y administración de sus ingresos. En ese sentido, la transparencia es el principio por el cual los ciudadanos conocen la información b
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ásica de la información sobre la gestión pública, así como sus procedimientos y mecanismos de adopción de decisiones. La transparencia y el derecho de acceso a la información en el nivel subnacional, a pesar de la emisión de normativa general, no ha mejorado en los últimos años. Esta falta de información coarta una participación y control real y efectivo por parte de la ciudadanía. La implementación de políticas de transparencia y acceso a la información, al interior de las diferentes instancias departamentales y municipales, constituye no solo una demanda de la ciudadanía, sino una oportunidad para promover una administración más eficiente, confiable y legítima." (Conclusiones, página 14)
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"Queremos entender la comunicación y el acceso a la información como medios para la conquista de otros derechos. Hay innumerables rutas que podríamos tomar para llegar a este destino; la elegida acá es la que entiende la comunicación como un ecosistema complejo que debe estar imbricado en la co
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ncepción, ejecución y retroalimentación de las políticas públicas. Piense en una política pública cualquiera. En una democracia, ¿cuál es el momento T0 de esta política pública? La respuesta es el proceso electoral. Es allí donde la sociedad decide cuáles propuestas quiere ver implementadas y cuáles no. ¿Hay comunicación en esta etapa? ¿Y el momento T1? Una vez electos, los tomadores de decisiones deben empezar el proceso de planificación de las políticas que van a implementar. De nuevo, ¿está presente la comunicación aquí? Y continuemos… T2: aprobación legislativa. T3: implementación/ejecución. T4: monitoreo y evaluación. T5: retroalimentación y reinicio del ciclo electoral. En cada una de las etapas del diseño e implementación de una política pública cualquiera, hay palabras clave presentes: información, participación, diálogo, empoderamiento, mitigación de riesgos, corrección de rumbos, rendición de cuentas… En todos estos quehaceres hay robustos aspectos comunicativos y de acceso a la información. A estas alturas, usted, lector juicioso, se estará preguntando: ¿por qué todo este esfuerzo para subrayar lo obvio? Y es aquí donde reside el segundo pilar de esta caja de herramientas y estrategias: aunque parezca evidente, la comunicación, comprendida en su complejidad, diversidad y amplitud, debe estar incorporada en la ruta integral de las políticas públicas; cambiar este escenario es central para la eficiencia misma de las políticas que buscamos implementar." (Introducción, página 8-9)
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"How is society being reshaped by the continued diffusion and increasing centrality of the Internet in everyday life and work? Society and the Internet provides key readings for students, scholars, and anyone with a serious interest in understanding the interactions of the Internet and society. Spaw
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ned from a series of lectures at the University of Oxford, this multidisciplinary set of theoretically and empirically anchored chapters address the big questions about perhaps the most significant technological transformation of the 21st century. The authors employ a diversity of data, methods, and approaches to address these questions in creative ways. Internet research needs to keep learning from the past, ground itself in a diversity of disciplinary perspectives, and continue to look to the future. In doing so, Internet Studies can address core questions about equality, voice, knowledge, participation, and power; and provide a better understanding of what the ever-changing configurations of technology and society mean not only for everyday life, but also for major developments in the politics, economic, and cultural development of societies across the world. Understanding the role of the Internet in society is critical to addressing the major issues of policy and practice, from the nature of democracy and freedom of expression to how we learn, work and play in everyday life." (Publisher description)
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"In this publication, we focus on the people who make right to information laws come to life, and who use them as tools to fight corruption. In the following pages, you will find the stories of citizens from 10 countries across the Asia Pacific region who have used their right to information to dema
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nd accountability from their governments. From uncovering wrongdoing in Bangladesh and Mongolia, to ensuring that citizens get the services they need in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and from holding politicians to account in the Maldives to ensuring that governments share key guidance and statistics in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, these stories show the difference access to information can make. Information requests should be seen as a routine way for citizens to understand their government’s work and to hold it accountable. However, in many places around the world, this is not the case. In many countries, making these requests requires great courage from citizens who may face challenges and danger in doing so." (Introduction, page 3)
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"The toolkit encompasses a broad variety of issues, which should be considered by judicial actors in the course of their work to protect human rights. It covers legal standards of freedom of expression according to international and regional instruments and core texts and surveys pertinent jurisprud
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ence on freedom of expression from regional and sub-regional courts or quasi-judicial bodies that deal with human rights issues. The toolkit explicates conditions under which speech can be legitimately restricted, while also giving prominence to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the latter representing one of the main obstacles to guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of information. Finally, the toolkit also addresses recent challenges to freedom of expression on the internet, including on social media, which have become vital means for sharing information and expressing views. The question of gender representation in media content and careers, and gender-specific threats for women journalists, are also addressed." (Foreword, page 10)
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"Only a few media companies have a predominant market position and thus a potentially high influence on public opinion in Tanzania. Whereas the regulatory framework should in theory safeguard media pluralism and prevent media concentration, it shows considerable gaps in practice. Moreover, the legal
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environment restricts data collection and research." (http://www.mom-rsf.org/en/countries/tanzania)
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"This report reviews the current state of the right of access to information (RTI) across the world to provide a baseline for future assessments over the lifetime of the 2030 Agenda. It finds that there has been significant incorporation of the right in well over half of UN Member States. The right
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has now been adopted into law or policy in 118 countries around the world (61 percent of UN Member States) from the largest countries (China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria and Mexico) to some of the smallest (St Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu) covering 89 percent of the world’s population. In addition, 90 countries have adopted explicit constitutional guarantees [...] This report aims to provide understanding of RTI and its concrete implications on the daily life of citizens and the application of SDGs. It also aims to inform stakeholders on various experiences developed in this field, and the means at their disposal to exercise this right and advocate for its effective and measurable realization." (Executive summary)
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"This research looks at the information needed by in-country development stakeholders with an emphasis on accountability actors including civil society organizations, charities, government workers, and the media. To collect this information, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Sierra Leone
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and Liberia. The majority of interviewees wanted information about financial resources and the channels they flowed through, and all respondents wanted information on the services provided and where the work was happening subnationally, suggesting that these two sets of information may be the most important. Unfortunately, information on subnational locations and services provided is infrequently available through open aid data portals, implying a need to update what aid information is shared." (Page 1)
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"[...] es una herramienta indispensable para operadores de justicia que tratan casos sobre la libertad de expresión. La guía, producida conjuntamente por la UNESCO y la oficina del Relator Especial para Libertad de Expresión (RELE) y escrita por Silvia Chocarro, es un mapa esencial de los estánd
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ares internacionales e incluye recomendaciones de lecturas, referencias a textos legales, ejemplos de casos y recursos útiles para ayudar a operadores de justicia a navegar en el terreno, a veces complejo, de garantizar el derecho a la libertad de expresión y acceso a la información." (www.cima.ned.org)
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"The study finds an overall positive attitude about the benefits of the RTI Act and potentials of its use by the journalists as an effective tool for producing quality in-depth and investigative reports. An opinion prevails that the act has already created some good examples of curbing corruption an
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d promoting transparency in some areas by ensuring peoples’ right to know. But these sporadic examples have not been able to create significant impact in the society. The volume of RTI usage in media reporting is still very low. Journalists mostly ask for information on the banking sector, finance issues, tender and procurement issues. Journalists have a common feeling that the RTI Act has empowered them as seekers of information. They claim information from the authorities as a legal right. They find it particularly useful when the subject of the news story is sensitive, and accessing information on such issues is difficult through conventional ways. Using the act substantially contributes to the improvement of the quality of reports. Journalists want to use RTI Act as a supportive tool for news sourcing and confirmation, because it provides them the most authentic and evidence based source. But it happens that they do not receive complete information from the authority. Again, information collected through the act creates opportunities to dig out more. But fear and risk factors often discourage them to use the act for reporting. Mixed opinions have been there on the experiences of using RTI as a news sourcing tool. The positive experience is that the tool provides opportunity of producing a quality story which gets prominent coverage. The other experience says, authorities often provide inadequate information and the journalist also runs the risk of deteriorating relationship with officials concerned. However, it is encouraging to find that journalists use almost all the information they get through the process of RTI application, appeal and complaint." (Executive summary, page 3-4)
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"Los países de América Latina han implementado importantes reformas de gobierno abierto durante los últimos años. La combinación de los esfuerzos a nivel nacional con el soporte que los países han obtenido por parte de la Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto (AGA) ha sido benéfica para lograr ava
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nces cruciales en diversas áreas relacionadas al gobierno abierto. Entre 2013 y 2014, la OCDE - como socio oficial multilateral de la AGA - llevó a cabo un estudio para conocer el estado actual de los estrategias y prácticas de gobierno abierto en la región. Este reporte presenta los principales hallazgos producto de la implementación de un cuestionario regional enfocado a recabar información sobre estrategias de gobierno abierto, acceso a la información y datos abiertos. En paralelo, el reporte presenta tres casos de estudio que analizan a fondo el estado del gobierno abierto en Costa Rica, Perú y Colombia. El cuestionario y el marco analítico están basados en la experiencia y estándares de la OCDE lo que permitirá a los países latinoamericanos conocer y evaluar la situación de la región en cara a las mejores prácticas internacionales. Se presentan los principales logros y desafíos regionales de una manera comparativa con la finalidad de posicionar las prácticas nacionales e institucionales desde una perspectiva global. Aparte del análisis comparativo de datos e información, el proyecto busca reforzar el marco institucional de los países partícipes del presente estudio con la finalidad de facilitar la implementación de los compromisos adquiridos dentro de la AGA y fortalecer la red regional de oficiales nacionales a cargo de gobierno abierto." (https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org)
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"This is a book about free speech narratives. Stories about how imagination and rational thinking in wildly different cultures capture, imagine, and conceptualize what freedom of speech means. 1989 and 2011 are only two recent (in historic perspective) turning points when freedom of speech and freed
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om of the press emerged, or at least powerful efforts were made to support its emergence, although disheartening backlashes followed in several countries. This book also tells many other free speech narratives that emerged, or evolved outside the frames of 1989 and 2011, also with several troublesome repercussions. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the year of largely velvet revolutions (in the words of Vaclav Havel), brought freedom of speech to Central Europe and Eastern Europe. It also increased the hope that freedom of speech and democracy can prevail in more and more countries on the earth. This book examines, in some historic perspective, to what extent this hope has become reality since and prior to 1989, also in light of the Arab revolutions of 2011." (Introduction, page 1)
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