why people love to talk
Freedom of expression and information are key in the battle to fight poverty.
We believe that the availability and accessibility of information promotes transparency, ensures better governance and reduces inefficiency and corruption. Information gives people the opportunity to make informed decisions, participate in the decision making process that affect them, and hold their leaders to account.
This Saturday (28 September) is International Right to Know Day. ARTICLE 19’s regional teams are holding a series of events across the globe to highlight why and how access to information can change lives and transform societies. Our case studies from the regions clearly demonstrate this impact and point to two key policy recommendations:
1. Countries should adopt RTI laws that make information easily accessible to citizens. Those countries that do see benefits for citizens and for improved governance.
2. Having laws is not enough. Countries that have adopted RTI laws need to invest more in informing people on how to use them to hold governments to account and gain information that enables them to improve their lives.
3. To build on these national laws and initiatives to promote wider accountability in all countries, access to information needs to be included in the new post-2015 development goals. As the centre of this should be a target for legal recognition in every country that individuals have a right to access information held by government bodies and others that is relevant to their needs.
For over ten years, ARTICLE 19 has led the movement to link achievement of global development goals with the right to information.
We campaign to establish strong legal frameworks that protect the right for people to be able to access information.
We support a culture of openness, encouraging governments to provide people with information in order that they can make informed decisions about their lives.
We work to support the free flow of information
We believe that the availability and accessibility of information promotes transparency, ensures better governance and reduces inefficiency and corruption. Information gives people the opportunity to make informed decisions, participate in the decision making process that affect them, and hold their leaders to account.
This Saturday (28 September) is International Right to Know Day. ARTICLE 19’s regional teams are holding a series of events across the globe to highlight why and how access to information can change lives and transform societies. Our case studies from the regions clearly demonstrate this impact and point to two key policy recommendations:
1. Countries should adopt RTI laws that make information easily accessible to citizens. Those countries that do see benefits for citizens and for improved governance.
2. Having laws is not enough. Countries that have adopted RTI laws need to invest more in informing people on how to use them to hold governments to account and gain information that enables them to improve their lives.
3. To build on these national laws and initiatives to promote wider accountability in all countries, access to information needs to be included in the new post-2015 development goals. As the centre of this should be a target for legal recognition in every country that individuals have a right to access information held by government bodies and others that is relevant to their needs.
For over ten years, ARTICLE 19 has led the movement to link achievement of global development goals with the right to information.
We campaign to establish strong legal frameworks that protect the right for people to be able to access information.
We support a culture of openness, encouraging governments to provide people with information in order that they can make informed decisions about their lives.
We work to support the free flow of information