International Access to Information Day

Tuesday 28 September is International Access to Information Day!

It recognises value of public access to government information – in the form of Open Data or through Freedom of Information.

This year’s theme is “Open By Design” which encourages us to seek ways to proactively release data and information, fostering innovation and helping everyone participate in our democracy.

Follow the link above to read the announcement from the WA Office of the Information Commissioner and a joint statement from commissioners across Australia. You can also see a list of events from different states. Many are available to join online.

Each year, the QLD OIC invites a high profile speaker to present the Solomon Lecture. The video will be available here from Tuesday 28 Sept and on Thurs 30 Sept the WA OIC will host a screening, with morning tea (free, but registration required). @datawa

This year’s speaker is Beth Noveck, who has served as US Deputy CTO under President Obama, and advised UK government. She currently directs The GovLab, working with public institutions on governance programs, public engagement in lawmaking (CrowdLaw), expert-sourcing innovative solutions to hard problems, co-creation between cities and citizens.

Traditionally, the right to know is rooted in the belief that members of the public should know what their government does in order to hold the government to account, lessen the risk of corruption and shine a light on wasteful and inefficient operations.

But in recent years, we have come to recognise that the value of information disclosure goes far beyond these things.

The ever-expanding universe of data available from government and the private sector have extraordinary value for solving public problems and doing so collaboratively with citizens.

In this talk, Prof. Noveck will discuss how a focus on public problem solving and improving people’s lives changes how we think about data. She will discuss specific policy prescriptions for creating a right to know that fosters better government, stronger citizenship and more agile solutions to contemporary challenges

#AccessToInfoDay #RightToKnow

3 Likes

Thanks so much for sharing @sonyas! Looks like I should be able to make it to the screening and Q&A tomorrow on behalf of the team :grinning:

2 Likes