Sunshine Week 2009: March 15-21

Guest judge Laura Neuman of The Carter Center in Atlanta has selected Birupakshya Dixit of Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, as the September winner of the Sunshine Week Citizen Journalism Award for his essay on the Helium.com Web site about access to information as a basic human right.

"Birupakshya Dixit makes a strong case for access to information to be considered a fundamental human right," said Neuman, associate director of the Americas Program and Access to Information Project manager. "In addition to international law, we are reminded of the critical need of information for human and economic development, for individuals to more positively engage in holding their governments to account, and as a necessary component for realizing other fundamental human rights."

Calling access to information a right that can help "human development and growth," Dixit wrote that, "During my involvement with [the] social development sector I have strongly felt that the marginalized people suffer a lot due to illiteracy, lack of awareness and knowledge on different programs designed for their development. There is lack of availability of information in one hand, and in the other people are unable to access the information. As a result the officials and the so-called duty bearers take the benefit of their ignorance and exploit them." Dixit's essay can be read online here.

In February, The Carter Center hosted more than 125 members of the global access community from 40 countries at the International Conference on the Right to Public Information. At this conference, the Atlanta Declaration was drafted. The Atlanta Declaration affirms "access to information is a fundamental human right" and sets forth a plan of action for ensuring that right is protected, preserved and exercised. More information about the conference and the Atlanta Declaration can be found on the Carter Center Web site

For the next month's Sunshine Week Citizen Journalism essay contest, which begins Oct. 6, writers are being asked to explore whether candidates for president, vice president or any elected office should be required to hold press conferences or answer questions from the news media and public, or if they should be allowed to communicate their positions in the format of their choice. The contest is open to professional and amateur writers alike. More information is available on the Helium Web site.

Around the world, people who believe in free press, free speech and the freedom to know what their governments are doing, are celebrating these rights from Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2008.

In Mexico, the second annual México Abierto is being celebrated from Sept. 28-Oct. 4. Based on the U.S. Sunshine Week model, México Abierto brings together journalists, students, academics, public service officials and non-government organizations.

Activities include publishing editorials and investigative articles, holding conferences and discussions with professionals and concerned citizens focusing on open government, and participating in forums on the use of Mexico's local and federal access to information laws.

For more information, visit the México Abierto Web site.

Also tied to International Right to Know Day, Sept. 28, FreedomInfo.org reports that more than 80 countries now have Freedom of Information laws ensuring their people have access to government-held information.

"Latin American countries in particular are witnessing new energy and milestones in expanding the right to know, in large part as a result of the landmark decision by the InterAmerican Human Rights Court in the case of Reyes v. Chile (2006) that access to government information is a fundamental human right," FreedomInfo.org reported.

Sept. 29 also marks the start of Banned Books Week, an annual event hosted by the American Library Association to remind people "not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted." Banned Books Week "celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular," ALA explained, adding it also "stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met." For more information, about Banned Books Week, and resources to celebrate it, visit the ALA Web site.

From North Carolina and Washington come two effective examples of how candidates at all levels of government — national, state and local — can be held accountable for their positions regarding government transparency and public access to information. Read more ....

Sunshine Week and PublishaLetter.com — a new Web site that helps people submit letters to the editors of newspapers around the world — have partnered to give the public an opportunity to write letters in an online round-table about open government issues. Read more ....

In October 2007, the then-16 major-party candidates were asked to complete a brief Sunshine Week survey on open government. To date, neither of the major parties' nominees has responded. Earlier, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards replied to the survey.

With the help of an indefatigable team of researchers, we have collected articles, speech and debate transcripts and other records that give some insight into the presidential candidates' thoughts on access to government information. We have distilled them into brief overviews with links to the source material, including the completed survey responses.

Read more ....

Get the Goods

Whether you support open government or just think Ronnie and Donnie are cute — or maybe even a little of both — you now can get exclusive Sunshine Week and Sunshine Campaign merchandise from our online store at CafePress.com.

Traditional Sunshine Week logo merchandise is available in our main shop, and we've created two others. One features the Sunshine Campaign "spokesmammals" Ronnie & Donnie on T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, mugs, clocks, notepads and more. The other utilizes the Vote for Sunshine campaign button imagery on similar items, including actual campaign-style buttons.

Any organization interested in co-branding products with its logo and the Sunshine Week merchandise should contact Sunshine Week Coordinator Debra Gersh Hernandez.