Combining the freedom of information campaigning expertise of Article 19 with Fahamu’s extensive experience of developing and running courses, this course is meant for people and organisations in Africa who have an interest in the issue of access to information.
The right of access to information is a crucial human right. A number of different terms are used to describe the same right: freedom of information, right to information, right to know and access to information. They all refer to a key strategic right that can be used to help realise many other human rights.
Access to information is often seen as an elite right – in particular as something that is of interest to the media, or perhaps to researchers. However, the crucial importance of access to information is that this is a right that belongs to everyone. It can be especially useful as a tool in campaigning for economic and social rights.
Access to information has a wide variety of practical uses:
- It can expose corruption, making government and the economy more efficient
- It can uncover mismanagement of food supplies, making shortages less likely
- It can expose environmental hazards that threaten health and livelihoods
- It can reduce the danger of human rights violations
- It can increase popular participation in government and development.
The right of access to information is based on the assumption that information held by public institutions is the property of the public. In addition, the public should also have access to information held by private bodies such as companies if this is needed to protect or realise their own rights.
This course looks at why access to information is important, what an access to information law should contain, and how to set about campaigning for one. It contains seven units, the first six of which end with an assignment. The last unit is a practical assignment.
Course content
1 What is meant by access to information :
- An overview of access to information in the world today
- Looking at the origins of the right
- The legal and human rights standards that underpin it
- A review of the different ways in which the public can realise this right.
2 Why access to information is important
- The main uses of access to information, including:
- Accountability and participation
- Health
- Environment
- Development
- The most important and persuasive arguments against access to information.
3 What should be in an access to information law
- The nine basic principles on access to information developed by the human rights organisation Article 19 (and endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression)
- The relationship between a new law allowing access to information and existing secrecy laws that may limit access.
4 How to deal with information that cannot be released
- Legitimate reasons for not releasing information that damages national security, commercial confidentiality or personal privacy
- An approach for evaluating whether or not information should be released.
5 Enforcing an access to information law
- Good and bad practice
- The role of non-governmental organisations.
6 How to develop a broad access to information campaign
- Its objectives
- Who should be involved
- Possible strategies and tactics
- Designing a campaign
- Campaigning methods that have worked.
Each of these unit ends with an assignment.
7 Final practical assignment
Designing a campaign plan for access to information in your country.
By the end of the course
Participants will be able to:
- Define access to information
- Describe international legal sources of access to information
- Describe the main elements of access to information
- Present arguments for and against allowing public access to information held by private bodies
- Describe the difference between 'information' and 'records'
- Make the main arguments in favour of access to information
- Engage with (and challenge) the most common objections to access to information
- Explain why a law is needed to enact access to information
- Outline each of the principles that should be contained in that law
- Describe what is best practice in an access to information law (and some bad practice)
- Understand the role of NGOs in making access to information work
- Plan and implement a campaign for an access to information law.
Course benefits
Every participant will be provided with course materials including a course CDROM, which contains a comprehensive library of all relevant declarations, conventions and documents, as well as useful website addresses. A resources section on the CDROM provides a glossary of frequently used terms, a list of recommended books, copies of documents, links to relevant websites and other useful resources
Every participant who successfully completes a course will be awarded a certificate from Fahamu and Article 19.
Audience
A very broad spectrum of people and organisations has an interest in the issue of access to information: trade unions, residents’ organisations, environmental groups, women’s groups, development organisations, human rights organisations and many others. All these groups would benefit from having a good access to information law enacted. However, many will not have a very clear idea of what exactly access to information is, how to campaign for it, or what should be included in an access to information law.
This course makes no assumptions about the level of knowledge about access to information.
Course length
Residential course: 1 week
Distance learning course (1–2 hours/day): 8 weeks
Tuition
Contact:
How to apply
I nformation on how to apply for a Fahamu course .
Buy CDROM
You may also purchase CDROMs of our courses from www.fahamubooks.org .
Article 19 (http://www.article19.org) works worldwide to combat censorship by promoting freedom of expression and access to official information .