On October 8th, OpenTheGovernment.org organized and moderated a session on law enforcement transparency and accountability at the 2016 National Freedom of Information Coalition FOI Summit. The session continues OTG’s work to identify avenues to support the work of the civil rights and social justice community on law enforcement reform.
On September 21, OTG's Patrice McDermott spoke at a Congressional Transparency Caucus briefing hosted by Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA). The panel was moderated by Demand Progress' Daniel Schuman, and also included Shanna Devine (Government Accountability Project) and Christian Hoehner (Data Transparency Coalition).
On March 11th, OpenTheGovernment.org joined the Newseum Institute, the American Society of News Editors, Sunshine Week, and the American Library Association in hosting National Freedom of Information Day at the Newseum. Among the day’s full schedule of events, OTG organized a mock caucus allowing attendees to weigh in on which of four issues presented they viewed as the top policy priorities for strengthening accountability and open government in 2017.
Sunshine Week 2016 will take place March 13th to 19th, throughout Washington, DC, and across the country.
On March 13th, OpenTheGovernment.org presented two panels in partnership with the Newseum Institute, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Sunshine in Government Initiative, and the American Library Association.
The 16th annual FOI Day program will feature a discussion of “Open Government: Successes, Challenges, Prospects,” presented by OpenTheGovernment.org, a discussion of the first ten years of the “Sunshine Week” national open records initiative, presented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the American Society of News Editors, and much more. Learn about the complete program here.
On October 31st, OpenTheGovernment.org, the Newseum Institute, and the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) will host a half-day event examining OGIS’s successes and challenges in its first five years of operation. OGIS is tasked with mediating FOIA disputes and monitoring agency compliance with the law.
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) opened its doors five years ago, with responsibilities to mediate disputes regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests between requesters and federal agencies, and to provide Congress and the President with recommendations on how to improve agencies compliance with the FOIA.
At five years old, OGIS faces challenges and changes. Join OGIS, OpenTheGovernment.org and the Newseum Institute for a half-day discussion on OGIS’ past and future, beginning at 8 a.m. Oct. 31. The program is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
RSVP here, or watch the live-stream here with stream ID 103114newseum
Join OTG at an Open Government Community Town Hall from 12 to 2pm ET on Wednesday, May 28th. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their organization’s activities and reconnect with other partners in the community. Rick Blum of the Sunshine in Government Initiative will kick things off with an overview of the FOIA Files, an interactive resource of journalism made possible by the Freedom of Information Act.
OpenTheGovernment.org officially launched during Sunshine Week in 2004, but the discussions about secrecy and the need for a united openness front began long before. Mark these years of work for open government with us on May 8th, 2014 in Washington DC. Please RSVP to apaulson[at]openthegovernment.org no later than April 24th.