[hre-asiapacific] Right to Know Day - 28 September 2004

Dear Friend,

I am writing to you as someone interested or involved in work on the right
to information. For your information - 28 September will be celebrated as
International
Rights To Know Day, as declared by the International Freedom of Information

Advocates Network (FOIA Net). It is hoped that by designating a specific
day to mark the importance of the right to know, the work of individual
activists around the world can be brought together under an international
banner and the cause can thereby be highlighted more effectively.

2003 saw the celebration of the inaugural Right to Know Day. In 2004, FOIA
Net is hoping that more activists will use the day - or the period around
the date, if more appropriate - as an opportunity to actively draw
attention

to RTI issues throughout the world. Examples of the kinds of actions which
civil society groups might engage in on Right to Know Day include:
* national media campaigns to raise awareness of the right
* publication of reports about the current state of access to information
a country or region
* advocacy for adoption of an access to information law in countries which
do not have one
* dissemination of information about how to use access to information laws
in countries where they exist
* seminars for local civil society groups on how to access government held
information (whether or not a law exists in a particular country)
* meetings or televised debates about open government and public
participation

Hopefully, in coming together as a group of activists working in
solidarity on this issue, our individual efforts will have more impact and
will get
the momentum going at national and international governance levels. If you
want to find out more about RTK Day, please log on to

http://www.foiadvocates.net/rkd.htm or feel free to contact me or any of the
other members of the Steering Committee (see the list attached). Please
also forward this message to any of your contacts that are also working on the
issue of the right to information and encourage them to get involved.

If your organisation holds any activities or publishes any articles/papers
to mark Right to Know Day, we would also be grateful if you could send Mr
Karen Andreasyan (kandreasyan@osieurope.org), who provides Secretariat
services to FOIA Net, information on the activity and/or a copy of the
article, so that we can add that information to the FOIA Net website.


Kind regards,
Charmaine Rodrigues
Steering Committee Member, FOI Advocates Network and
Coordinator, Right to Information Programme, CHRI
Address: Second Flr, B-117, Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi, India, 110017
Phone: +91-11-2652 8152, 2685 0523
Fax: +91-11-2686 4688
Website: www.humanrightsinitiative.org




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